Professional English
Cambridge English for
Marketing
TEACHER’S NOTES
Jeremy Day
with Nick Robinson
Professional English
Cambridge English for
Marketing
UNIT 1
TEACHER’S NOTES
The role of marketing
l
Describing your skills, qualifications and experience
Talking about what an organisation does
l Describing the role of marketing within an organisation
l Identifying and discussing stakeholders
l
Go to page 12 for essential background information on the topic and useful
web links
Don’t forget to use the Additional activity worksheet at the end of this unit;
notes and answers on page 8
Marketing terms can be found in the Glossary on Student’s Book pages
114–119
Refers to the Audioscript at the back of the Student’s Book
Before you begin …
If your students don’t know each other, they should give a three-minute
presentation on themselves: their name, job, experience, ambitions and areas of
expertise and interest within marketing.
You could also brainstorm with the class a definition of the word marketing and
write their ideas on the board. Afterwards, compare their ideas with a definition
from a dictionary (e.g. a job that involves encouraging people to buy a product
or service – http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=48898&dict=CALD;
the total of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the producer or seller
to the consumer or buyer, including advertising, shipping, storing, and selling –
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/marketing?r=66).
Doing the job
Before you begin …
Print some English-language adverts for jobs in marketing, for example from
http://jobs.marketingweek.co.uk/ or a website in your country. The jobs should be
suitable for your students, so you may want to filter the adverts (for example,
Marketing Week has a function where you can search by salary bands; jobs for
less experienced marketers will be in lower pay bands). Give each pair one or two
different adverts. Students read the job adverts to discuss in pairs whether (a)
the job sounds interesting and (b) they would have the necessary qualifications,
skills and experience to apply. They then pass their adverts to the next group
and discuss the next adverts. At the end, elicit from the class which jobs look
most attractive and suitable for members of the group. They could also underline
useful marketing vocabulary from the adverts, which you could put up on the
board.
1 Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
2 a
Make sure students read the note about Paula and Matt, as these characters will
appear throughout the unit. Students read the advert to answer the questions.
When they have checked with a partner, go through the answers with the class.
2
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UNIT 1 The role of marketing Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1 b
2 a (The advert does not explicitly state that this is a private sector
organisation; however, the nature of the service it provides suggests that it is.)
3 b
You could ask the class the following questions to check comprehension of the
situation and the text.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Who are Paula and Matt?
What is their connection to the job advert?
What is the job?
Is the job well-paid?
What type of service does Culture-Insight provide?
How do you think they empower staff?
How might the company help organisations to fulfil their international potential?
Suggested answers
1
2
3
4
They are marketing executives on their first day in a new job.
This is the job they applied for and got.
Marketing Executive.
According to the advert, the salary is competitive, i.e. good compared to
similar jobs.
5 Training in intercultural communication and international management skills.
6 For example, by teaching them about opportunities and techniques they may
be unaware of.
7 For example, by allowing them to build good relationships with international
partners.
b Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class. Write
students’ answers onto the board in two columns: Responsibilities and Skills/
Characteristics/Knowledge.
Note
Skills are what a person is good at. They include things like leadership, teambuilding, interpersonal skills, creativity, etc.
Characteristics are what a person is like. They include things like patience,
intelligence, tolerance, open-mindedness, single-mindedness, etc.
Knowledge is what a person knows. It includes acquired skills such as business
awareness, computer literacy, experience with various work situations, expertise,
etc.
c
Students read the advert to check their ideas on the board.
Answers
Responsible for: see paragraph 1 of the job advert in Exercise 2c.
Skills, characteristics and knowledge needed: see paragraphs 2 and 3 of the job advert.
3
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UNIT 1 The role of marketing Teacher’s Notes
Language note
The marketing mix refers to the range of factors that go into marketing a
product. They include the classic four Ps of marketing (price, promotion, product
and place) as well as three other elements which are often included, especially
in the context of marketing a service (people, process and physical presence).
Packaging is also occasionally included as a P, but is usually considered part
of the product or physical presence. Marketers may specialise in one or more
elements of the mix, or they may deal with the whole mix.
Marketing collateral refers to printed and online material used to promote a
company, product or service, and includes things like brochures, posters, leaflets,
websites, etc.
d Students work in pairs to complete the matching activity. When you check with
the class, make sure students know exactly what each activity involves.
Answers
2 l 3 c 4 i 5 j 6 h 7 b 8 g 9 f 10 a 11 d 12 e
Other possible collocations in addition to those in the advert:
1 a, c, d, f, h, j, l
3 j
5 c
8 a
10 c, d, e, l
2 d
4 g
6 c, f, j, l
9 c, d, h, j, k, l
Extension activity: collocations
Students test each other by reading the first part of a collocation to elicit
from their partner the second part.
e Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
f
Students discuss the skills in pairs and then feed back to the class.
g Students discuss the questions in small groups and then feed back to the class.
You could ask the following questions.
Is there anything you can do about the skills that you lack?
Are these skills that you have to be born with, or can they be learnt?
3 a
Students listen to the recording to answer the question.
1.1 page 88
Answers
Paula seems more confident.
b Students listen again to answer the questions. When they have compared their
ideas with a partner, go through them with the class.
1.1 page 88
Answers
1
2
3
4
No.
Matt studied International Business and Management; Paula studied English.
Matt wanted to work for a small company, not a big corporation.
She has a marketing qualification from The Chartered Institute of Marketing
(CIM).
5 A finance company.
6 Paula wanted a job with more travel and a chance to do more international
marketing.
c
4
Students work in pairs to correct the mistakes. You could play the recording again
for students to check their answers or ask them to look at Audioscript 1.1 on
page 88.
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UNIT 1 The role of marketing Teacher’s Notes
Answers
(Alternative answers in brackets)
1 This is my first job since university. (since leaving university)
2 I just graduated. (I’ve just graduated)
3 What did you study? (were you studying)
4 I did a degree in International Business and Management at Hull.
5 There were a lot of modules in Marketing.
6 I did a marketing qualification.
7 I got a job as a Marketing Assistant for a finance company near London.
8 It was a good organisation to work for.
Extension activity: talking about your qualifications and
experience
Elicit from the class alternative ways of saying sentences 1–8 in Exercise 3c
by changing one or a few words. Write these up on the board, and encourage
students to use some of them in Exercise 3d below.
Suggested answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
This is my first job since graduating.
I recently graduated.
What was your degree in?
I studied International Business and Management at Hull.
We did a lot of modules in Marketing.
I got a marketing qualification.
I worked as a Marketing Assistant for a company near London.
I enjoyed working there.
d Students discuss their qualifications and experience in pairs, using the phrases
from Exercise 3c. Encourage them to use other phrases from this section and to
treat this as a dialogue rather than two monologues.
4 a
Students discuss the question in pairs.
b Go through the interview questions on page 86 with the class, eliciting some
alternatives to the words in brackets. Students then find a different partner to
interview each other, using the questions provided on page 86. Allow only about
three minutes for each interview, after which students should swap roles.
Extension activity: job interviews
You could extend the interviews by eliciting more questions from the class
before you start. Examples of typical questions for marketing jobs include:
• What three words might your manager/tutor/friends/colleagues use to
describe you?
• What did you learn from your degree / your CIM?
• How did you find studying your degree / your CIM?
Note
CIM here stands for Certificate in Marketing, an important qualification from
the Chartered Institute of Marketing (also abbreviated to CIM). There is an
Introductory CIM and a Professional CIM. See http://www.cim.co.uk/tandq/
qualifications/qualificationDetails/whichqualification.aspx for information on CIM
qualifications and http://www.cim.co.uk/home.aspx for background information on
the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
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UNIT 1 The role of marketing Teacher’s Notes
Induction
Before you begin …
On the board, brainstorm a list of all the things students would expect to learn
/ be taught on their first day in a new job. You could compare students’ ideas
with the checklist at the bottom of this article: http://www.businessballs.com/
inductiontrainingchecklist.htm.
5 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
b Discuss the question first with the class and write their answers up on the board.
Then students listen to check which ideas from the board were mentioned.
Depending on the level of your students, you may wish to pause the recording at
strategic moments to give students time to take notes.
1.2 page 88
Answers
Fiona talks about the service that Culture-Insight provides; who their suppliers,
customers and competitors are; and how they supply their service (the route to
market).
c
Students discuss with a partner what they remember for each heading and then
listen again to make notes. They compare their notes with a partner and the key
on page 98, and then feed back to the class.
1.2 page 88
Answers
Service: training and consultancy – offer help and advice to organisations working
internationally; teach clients about cultural differences.
Suppliers: the freelance trainers / consultants are the suppliers: they develop the
training courses, working closely with the in-house research team.
Route to market: sales team sell services direct to human resources / training
departments.
Customers/Clients: generally blue-chip companies all over the world (car
manufacturers, etc.); some public sector work in the UK, too (governmental
organisations, etc.).
Competitors: other training companies; but also the Internet and books.
You could ask the following questions.
1 At the end of her presentation, Fiona says that some potential clients are
effectively competitors, because they think they can do the job themselves. Can
you think of more examples where your competitors might actually be your
potential customers or suppliers?
2 How might this change the relationship between companies and their competitors?
Suggested answers
1 A transport company vs. potential customers that have an in-house transport
department.
A marketing agency vs. companies that do their own in-house marketing.
A manufacturer vs. a supplier of raw materials that can also produce finished
goods.
2 The relationship becomes much more complicated: the companies have to cooperate as partners, but if the relationship fails they could become rivals.
d Students complete the sentences and then listen to the extracts to check.
1.3 page 88
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UNIT 1 The role of marketing Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
OK, so as you know, we’re in the training and consultancy business.
That means we provide a service to our customers ...
We’re involved in teaching our clients about cultural differences ...
We also do some work with public sector organisations here in the UK.
... we’re keen to do more work with governmental organisations in the future.
e Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 Business, sector and industry are often used interchangeably, although sector
is technically broader. It can be useful to know which words collocate with
business, sector and industry. For example, we say the financial sector, the
public sector, the private sector, the voluntary sector, the government sector,
the industrial sector, etc. Business and industry can be used in most other
situations: the retail business/industry, the travel business/industry, the
accountancy business/industry, the oil business/industry, the film business/
industry, etc.
2 They might say we sell a product / sell products to our customers/clients.
3 Customers. However, client is often used to describe people who buy a service
as opposed to a product.
4 The public sector refers to organisations that are affiliated in some way to
the government of a country and provide services. The private sector refers
to organisations that are not affiliated to the government; profit is the driving
force of all private sector organisations. The voluntary sector is made up of
organisations such as charities, who are not-for-profit and not affiliated with
the government.
5 Hope to, plan to and be going to. However, plan to and be going to suggest
that you are in the process of making something happen, rather than just
wanting it to happen.
Extension activity: useful phrases for induction meetings
Students look at Audioscript 1.2 on page 88. In pairs, they underline Fiona’s
phrases that would be useful for all induction meetings.
Suggested answers
So, to begin, I just want to say once more how happy I am that you’re both here.
We were delighted when you accepted the job, and I hope that you’re both going
to be very happy with us here.
I thought it would be useful to begin today by talking in a little more detail about
…, and giving you a quick overview of …
OK, so as you know, …
That means we …
What that means in practice is that we …
So, for example, imagine …
We’re involved in …
We also do some work with …
Well, specifically we’re keen to do more work with …
f
7
Students use the expressions in Exercises 5c and 5d to talk about their
organisation or an organisation they know well. They could also invent their own
ideas. Their presentations should be in the form of dialogues, so their partners
should ask questions. Afterwards, they swap roles.
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UNIT 1 The role of marketing Teacher’s Notes
Orientation
Before you begin …
Elicit from the class what students understand by the word orientation. Elicit
some examples of types of orientation within the world of business/marketing
(e.g. customer orientation, product orientation, sales orientation, marketing
orientation).
Additional activity
For more on the different types of orientation, use Worksheet 1 at the end
of this unit. Cut up the worksheet and give each group a set of the slips of
paper. Students put the slips showing the four types of orientation on the
four corners of their desks. They should place the quotes within the square
created by the four corners, positioned according to which combination
of orientations each quote represents. Students also discuss whether the
speaker was generally right or wrong from a modern marketing point of view.
Afterwards tell them that all the quotes come from Henry Ford, founder of
the Ford Motor Company and a pioneer in mass-production.
Suggested answers
1 Customer orientation
2 Product orientation
3 People orientation
4 Customer orientation / Sales orientation
5 Product orientation / Customer orientation
6 Product orientation / People orientation
7 Product orientation
The quotes are a reminder that orientation is far from simple. Quotes 2 and 7
remind us that it is not always a good idea to give customers exactly what they
claim to want.
6 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
b Students discuss the sentences in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Extension activity: organograms
Check with the class that students understand what an organogram is
(a graphic description of a company structure in terms of departments,
responsibilities and hierarchies). Elicit from the class what an organogram for
a sales-oriented company might look like.
Suggested answers
A marketing-oriented organisation tends to include marketing involvement
in senior management; delegation of decision-making to staff in contact with
the customer; a focus on strong communications and information systems;
an emphasis on customer service and training and on internal marketing. By
contrast, a more sales-oriented organisation is likely to be structured around
product managers managing specific products and developing skills in relation to
promotion, pricing and distribution, with marketing acting as a support function
to sales, and little emphasis placed on the needs of the customer.
c
Students listen and tick the phrases in Exercise 6b that Fiona uses.
1.4 pages 88–89
Answers
1 b 2 b 3 a 4 a
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UNIT 1 The role of marketing Teacher’s Notes
d Students discuss the questions in small groups and then feed back to the class.
e Students work in pairs to complete the table. Afterwards, go through the answers
with the class.
Answers
Explaining and giving examples
What that means in practice is ...
For example, imagine ...
To put it simply, ...
That means that ...
That’s our main objective.
What it means is that ...
Let me give you an example: ...
Querying
Is that right?
Oh, really?
What do you mean by that?
How does that work in practice?
Is that because ... ?
Showing understanding
Yes, I can imagine.
Right, I see.
Yes, I see what you mean.
Extension activity: examples, querying, and showing
understanding
Students test each other in pairs by reading one of the headings to elicit
some of the expressions from their partner.
7 a
Students work alone to make notes. They could draw an organogram to help
them. They could invent the details if they don’t know an organisation well.
b Students role play the presentations in pairs. Encourage these to be dialogues
rather than monologues. Afterwards, students swap roles.
Stakeholders
Before you begin …
Students work in pairs to brainstorm a list of all the companies and other
organisations that affect their own lives. Encourage them to be as creative
as possible – to think outside the box. The list could include students’ own
employers, their competitors, the suppliers and customers, companies which
pollute their local environment or which provide something to their local
community, companies which sponsor their favourite activities (e.g. football
teams, internet browsing, watching TV, etc.), companies which employ their
friends and family members. At the end, the team with the longest list (which
they will need to justify) is the winner.
8 a
9
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class. Collect
students’ ideas on the board.
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UNIT 1 The role of marketing Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
1 Stakeholders are individuals or groups directly affected by the behaviour of an
organisation.
2 An internal stakeholder usually works for the organisation itself; for example,
employees and management are internal stakeholders. External stakeholders
exist outside of the organisation, but may still affect it or be affected by it; for
example, customers and suppliers are external stakeholders.
3 See Exercise 8b.
b Students listen to the presentation to complete the first part of the handout.
1.5 page 89
Answers
Internal stakeholders: employees; management
External stakeholders: clients; suppliers (consultants); competitors; governmental
organisations (the local community is also mentioned, but not considered key
stakeholders)
c
Students discuss the differences in pairs and then feed back to the class.
d Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
(Internal stakeholders are generally employees and management.)
1 Internal: board of directors, franchisees. External: shareholders (if a public
company), communities where they have operations and employ staff
2 External: the general public, voters, the government, political parties
3 External: the people who donate money, the people who benefit from their
work
4 External: manufacturers (often in Third World countries), the economies of
those countries
e Students work in pairs to complete the definitions. Make sure they understand
the word collocation.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
f
stakeholder power
key stakeholders
primary stakeholders
secondary stakeholders
stakeholder interest
Students listen to the rest of the discussion to answer the questions. They
discuss their answers in pairs and then feed back to the class.
1.6 page 89
Answers
1 Their potential clients
2 Governmental organisations
3 Because they’re trying to take more control over the content of their training
courses; they don’t want to depend as much on the consultants (their
suppliers)
4 Learning how to break into and work with public sector organisations.
5 Why Culture-Insight is taking responsibility for the content of their training
courses away from the consultants and giving it to the in-house team
g Students work in pairs to complete the handout.
10
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UNIT 1 The role of marketing Teacher’s Notes
Answers
Primary stakeholders: employees, management, clients, suppliers (for now,
although decreasing in importance)
Secondary stakeholders: governmental organisations (for now, although
increasing in importance)
Key players (high interest and power): employees, management, clients
Little interest but high power: governmental organisations
Interest but little power: suppliers, competitors
Increasing: governmental organisations, some employee groups (the sales team
and in-house research team)
Decreasing: suppliers, management (already on-board with new strategy)
9 a
Students work in pairs to list key stakeholders in their organisation or one they
know well.
b Students work with a different partner to present and discuss their analyses.
Extension activity: writing a stakeholder analysis
Students write up their stakeholder analysis as a report for new employees.
They could base their report on a model from the Internet (e.g. search Google
Images for ‘stakeholder analysis’).
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UNIT 1 The role of marketing Teacher’s Notes
Background information and useful web links
Skills, characteristics and knowledge
Skills are what a person is good at. They include things like leadership, team-building,
interpersonal skills, creativity, etc.
Characteristics are what a person is like. They include things like patience, intelligence,
tolerance, open-mindedness, single-mindedness, etc.
Knowledge is what a person knows. It includes acquired skills such as business
awareness, computer literacy, experience with various work situations, expertise.
Useful web links
What do employers really want? Top skills and values employers seek from job-seekers
http://www.quintcareers.com/job_skills_values.html
Induction training
This is often held on a new employee’s first day at work, and may include a tour of the
premises, meetings with key members of staff, essential health and safety training,
and an introduction to the company structure, hierarchy and culture.
Useful web links
Induction training
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_training
Induction training and induction checklist
http://www.businessballs.com/inductiontrainingchecklist.htm
Orientation
This has several meanings, as well as being another name for induction (see above).
In this unit, orientation refers to the company philosophy: is it customer-oriented,
for example, i.e. does it put the customer at the heart of its decision-making at the
highest level? Note that you can also say customer-orientated, but some people
consider this to be a mistake. You can also say, for example, customer-focused,
customer-centred or customer-centric, all with broadly the same meaning. Companies
can also be market-oriented (or orientated / focused, etc.), again with essentially the
same meaning.
The most important contrast is between customer-oriented companies and productoriented companies. Product-oriented companies concentrate on doing what they are
good at and doing it better (or more cheaply, etc.) in the hope that customers will
want to buy the product. This is an effective strategy when the product really is the
best and happens to be what customers want, but it is considered a short-sighted
or arrogant way of thinking. Product-oriented companies may be spectacularly
successful, but most will struggle. Customer-oriented companies are more likely to
succeed because their approach is more systematic.
Other important concepts here include marketing-orientation (as distinct from
market-orientation), which puts marketing (and big marketing budgets) at the heart
of the company, and sales-orientation, which focuses on getting products sold in the
largest possible quantities. In practice, of course, most companies cannot afford to
be completely focused on one aspect (such as customer demand) and ignore other
aspects (such as innovative design which was not generated by market research).
Useful web links
Comparing product-oriented and customer-centric organisations
http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Comparing-Product-Oriented-and-Customer-CentricOrganizations/
Market and product orientation
http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/theory/theory--market-product-orientation--211.php
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UNIT 1 The role of marketing Teacher’s Notes
Stakeholders
A stakeholder is any person or organisation who can be positively or negatively
impacted by, or cause an impact on, the actions of a company, government or
organisation.
Types of stakeholders:
●●
Primary stakeholders: those ultimately affected, either positively or negatively by
an organisation’s actions.
●●
Secondary stakeholders: the ‘intermediaries’, that is, persons or organisations who
are indirectly affected by an organisation’s actions.
●●
Key stakeholders: (may also belong to the first two groups) they have significant
influence upon or importance within an organisation.
Using a narrow definition of stakeholders, they may include the following: Employees;
Communities; Shareholders; Creditors; Investors; Government; Customers.
Using a broader definition, a company’s stakeholders may also include: Suppliers;
Labour unions; Government regulatory agencies; Industry trade groups; Professional
associations; NGOs and other advocacy groups; Prospective employees; Prospective
customers; Local communities; National communities; the Public at Large (Global
Community); Competitors; Schools; etc.
The two major elements of Stakeholder Management are Stakeholder Analysis (the
technique used to identify the key people who have to be won over) and Stakeholder
Planning (techniques to build the support that helps the company to succeed).
Useful web links
Stakeholder (corporate)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stakeholder_(corporate)
Stakeholder analysis
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_07.htm
Three great examples of a stakeholder analysis matrix
http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/3713.aspx
Sample stakeholder analysis
http://www.brighthub.com/bh_controls/viewarticleimage.
aspx?url=http%3a%2f%2fimages.brighthub.com%2f10%2fE%2f10E6A8FF6854157
0E685EE757400A05569CC4204_large.jpg&title=&postId=11136&page=1
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UNIT 1 The role of marketing Teacher’s Notes
Worksheet 1
1 A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits.
They will be embarrassingly large.
2 Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.
3 If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.
4 It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money.
It is the customer who pays the wages.
5 Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.
6 There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: make the best quality of goods
possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.
7 If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.
14
Product orientation
Sales orientation
People orientation
Customer orientation
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Professional English
Cambridge English for
Marketing
UNIT 2
TEACHER’S NOTES
The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives
l
Outlining a marketing plan
Carrying out a marketing audit: PESTEL analysis, SWOT analysis, Five Forces analysis
l Setting marketing objectives
l
Go to page 26 for essential background information on the topic and useful
web links
Don’t forget to use the Additional activity worksheet at the end of this unit;
notes and answers on page 25
Marketing terms can be found in the Glossary on Student’s Book pages
114–119
Refers to the Audioscript at the back of the Student’s Book
The marketing plan
Before you begin …
Print some examples of marketing plans (see e.g. http://www.paloalto.co.uk/
software/marketing_plan_pro/samples.cfm for a good bank of samples) and
distribute one or two to each group. Students work in small groups to identify
the sections of a marketing plan and the purpose of each section. They then feed
back to the class. On the board, collect examples of sections which are used in
every plan and sections which are less commonly used.
1 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 They are all electric cars. They run on electricity instead of petrol. Instead of
going to a petrol station, drivers charge the batteries in their cars by plugging
them in (in the same way as a mobile phone, for example). The cars can be
charged at home or at charging points in some major cities.
2 Electric cars are most often bought by people who are concerned about
environmental issues. As the cars don’t use petrol, they contribute very
little to carbon emissions (C02 in the atmosphere; a major cause of global
warming).
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
b Students read the mission statement to answer the questions.
Answers
1 Car 2, because it’s a high-performance car.
2 Suggested answer
Their customer profile is probably similar to that of Ferrari, Porsche, etc.; that
is, rich professionals, mostly male, between 30 and 50. However, because
Frezna makes electric cars, their customers will probably have some interest
in environmental issues, too.
3 Suggested answer
Other electric car manufacturers (although only if they sell electric sports
cars); petrol sports car manufacturers (Ferrari, Porsche, etc.).
4 Suggested answer
As Frezna make electric vehicles, their core value is probably
environmentalism. Environmentalism is about protecting the environment
from pollution or destruction. The company’s other core values might include
a passion for high-performance and speed and also a dedication to using and
developing the most advanced technology available.
Extension activity: mission statements
Print some more examples of mission statements (see http://www.
missionstatements.com/company_mission_statements.html for a huge bank of
mission statements). Students identify common language techniques used in
these statements. Elicit how important these mission statements are in (a)
creating a marketing plan and (b) managing the business.
If you have internet access in the classroom, you could also play the Mission
Statement Generator in class (http://www.netinsight.co.uk/portfolio/mission/
missgen_intro.asp).
Possible answers
Infinitives (To provide X / Our mission is to provide X)
Present simple (We strive to develop X)
Present continuous (We are working to be …)
Superlatives, etc. (the best X, the leading Y, the key Z)
2 a
Do this quickly with the class.
Answers
1 strategy 2 plan
b Students discuss the questions in pairs. Don’t go through the answers at this
point as suggested answers are given in Exercises 2c and 2d.
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
c
Students discuss the words in pairs and then feed back to the class. For more on
executive summaries, see Student’s Book pages 27–29.
Suggested answers
Objectives: what the organisation wants to achieve with its marketing plan
Executive summary: a short summary or overview of the contents of the
marketing plan
Tactics: the specific marketing actions that the organisation will take in order to
implement its strategy
Budget: how much the plan will cost to implement; how success will be measured;
how costs will be controlled
Strategy: how the organisation will plan to achieve its objectives
Audit: an analysis of the internal and external factors facing the organisation; an
answer to the question, ‘Where are we now?’
Strategy and tactics are often confused. A strategy always comes before tactics.
The tactics are the specific activities you do in order to achieve your strategy.
d Students read the email and complete it with words from Exercise 2c.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
Executive summary
Audit
Objectives
Strategy
Tactics
Budget
e Students work in pairs to complete the exercise and then feed back to the class.
Point out that these acronyms will be explained much more fully later in the unit.
Answers
PESTEL – Political, Economic, Sociological (or Socio-cultural), Technological,
Environmental (or Ethical), Legal. A PESTEL analysis is a way of analysing trends
in the external environment which affect an organisation.
SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. A SWOT analysis is a
tool for identifying the internal and external factors that an organisation faces.
SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound. SMART is an
acronym often used to describe objectives.
Note
PESTEL has many variations (STEP/PEST, PESTEL/PESTLE, STEEPLE, etc.). See
Background information at the end of this unit for more on PESTEL, SWOT and
SMART.
f
Students read the email again to identify the phrases.
Answers
I will take responsibility for ...
Can I ask you to take this forward?
You’ll (also) need to ...
Can you take responsibility for ...
You will be responsible for ...
You will need to input into ...
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
g Discuss this question quickly with the class. Elicit examples of polite, direct
language.
Answers
b
h Students work alone to try to find the polite versions of the sentences.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
Cathryn, can I ask you to take this forward?
You’ll need to do a comprehensive PESTEL analysis.
Please use last year’s as a starting point.
Scott and Jessica, can you take responsibility for the SWOT analysis?
You’ll also need to do SWOTS for our main competitors.
Please remember that these need to be SMART.
You could ask the following questions.
1 Would the structures in Exercise 2h sound too rude in your language?
2 Would the structures in Gavin’s email be too delicate in your language?
3 Why is it important to use delicate language, even when you are the boss?
Suggested answers
3 In many cultures, it is unacceptable for the boss to give direct orders. The
boss may have more success (and create a stronger, more productive team) if
he/she treats subordinates with respect.
The audit: PESTEL
Before you begin …
Elicit onto the board what PESTEL stands for. Allow plenty of space between each
word, so you can write some notes later (Exercise 3b).
3 a
Students discuss the question in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answer
The purpose of an audit is to help an organisation answer the question ‘Where
are we now?’, while also identifying the internal and external factors which will
have an impact on the organisation’s future plans. A good audit should help an
organisation clarify its objectives and develop its strategy.
b Students work in pairs to make a list of questions for each part of the PESTEL
analysis. Then collect ideas onto the board. Finally, tell students to compare
their answers with the answers in the key on page 100. Identify any important
questions that they missed.
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
1
Political:
How stable is the government / political situation?
Economic:
What is the general economic forecast?
What is happening to interest rates, inflation, unemployment, the country’s Gross
Domestic Product (GDP), etc.?
Sociological:
Do people have strong or weak views on: green issues, gender issues, etc.?
What do people like to do in their spare time? How much leisure time do they
have?
Is the birth rate falling or rising? Are we living in an ageing population or in a
young society?
What is the gender and ethnic mix in our society? Is this changing?
What are people’s attitudes towards our industry? Does it have a good or bad
reputation?
Technological:
What opportunities does technology offer in terms of: new products, cost/
efficiency of design and production, distribution, communication, etc.?
Will advances in technology allow new competitors to enter the market?
Environmental:
How worried are people about environmental issues?
What action is the government taking on environmental issues? Does it affect us?
Are environmental issues having an impact on our day-to-day lives (bad weather,
water shortages, etc.)?
Is the environment creating new markets or destroying existing ones?
Legal:
Are we at risk from legal action?
From a legal/policy point of view, what is the government’s attitude to
environmentalism and corporate social responsibility (CSR)?
2
Internal: reports and product/market research documents; sales figures; databases;
marketing information systems (MkIS), management information systems (MIS),
customer relationship management (CRM) systems
External: newspapers; industry-specific magazines, periodicals and journals;
books; trade organisations; government departments/agencies; industry analysts;
industry-specific blogs and websites; the financial press; academic papers;
conferences
c
The writing can be done as homework or in groups in class. Encourage students
to use the language for giving polite instructions. If you would prefer not to have
students write in class, they could take turns to ‘speak’ their letters to a partner.
As with the traditional writing task, make sure they use the target language.
d Students work alone to complete the PESTEL analysis.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
19
Economic
Political
Environmental
Technological
Legal
Sociological
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
Language note
Point out the difference between rise and raise: Note that rise is an intransitive
verb – that is, it doesn’t take an object (e.g. unemployment is rising). Raise,
however, is transitive, meaning it needs an object (e.g. directives from the
European Union are gradually raising the standards for vehicle emissions).]
Extension activity: PESTEL analysis
In pairs, students discuss any additional factors they would add to Cathryn’s
PESTEL analysis based on their own country. They could use the key for
Exercise 3b on page 100 to help them.
e Students work alone to do the matching activity and to find examples. Then
­­discuss the answers with the class.
Answers
1eThere will be incentives of up to £5,000 for consumers to buy electric cars;
investment will be made into electric car infrastructure in British towns;
and £100m will be given to car manufacturers for research into electric car
technology.
2aThere will probably be a general election next year, ...
3c ... which may lead to a change in government and some political instability.
4bWidespread adoption of electric cars would cut road transport emissions in
half.
5f There have been recent improvements in lithium-ion batteries. The
government has recently announced a £250m strategy to help reduce carbon
emissions. The success of British Formula 1 racing driver Lewis Hamilton has
increased interest in motor racing and sports cars in general.
6dPeople are spending less; unemployment is rising. Directives from the
European Union are gradually raising the standards for vehicle emissions.
People are becoming more concerned about carbon emissions. Attitudes
towards ‘green’ issues are becoming more normal, especially among young
people.
f
Students work alone to complete the sentences, using the tenses from 3f. When
they have checked with a partner, go through the answers with the class.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
is currently getting
has recently announced
are now making
will/may eventually make
will/would certainly have to
g Students work alone to complete the exercise. When they have checked with a
partner, go through the answers with the class.
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
Answers
Upward trend:
become more
rise
gradually raise
increase interest in sth
Downward trend:
(economic) downturn
become less
(spend) less
reduce
be at an all-time low
cut (sth) (by … / in half)
Extension activity: describing opposite trends
Students work in pairs to think of the opposites of the expressions in 3g.
Suggested answers
economic downturn: economic upturn / boom
become less: become more
spend less: spend more
reduce: increase
rise: fall
gradually: suddenly / dramatically
raise sth: lower sth
be at an all-time low: … an all-time high / a peak
cut (sth) (by … / in half): increase sth by half (= 150%) / double sth (= 200%)
h Students work in small groups to plan their PESTEL analyses. If they need help
choosing an organisation, you could use one of the mission statements from the
Extension activity following Exercise 1b above as a case study. They then write up
their PESTEL analysis as homework.
The audit: SWOT and the Five Forces
Before you begin …
Elicit onto the board what SWOT stands for. Choose a big story from the day’s
news – it could be a business story or even some celebrity gossip. Elicit some
possible strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the person or
company at the centre of the news story.
4 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
1 The purpose of a SWOT analysis is to identify and evaluate the strengths and
weaknesses of a project, business or product/service and the opportunities
and threats it faces in its external environment. A SWOT analysis is a useful
strategic planning tool.
2 The strengths and weaknesses sections focus on internal factors; the
opportunities and threats sections focus on external factors.
b Students listen to identify the order.
2.1 pages 89–90
Answers
They discuss strengths, weaknesses, threats then opportunities.
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
c
Students listen again to make notes. Point out that the number of bullet points
corresponds to the number of points for each heading. Students then compare
their notes with a partner before going through them with the class.
2.1 pages 89–90
Answers
Strengths:
● Their product
● Unique value proposition: environmentally-friendly sports cars which save
customers money
● Technological know-how (e.g. long-life batteries, which offer a competitive edge)
Weaknesses:
● 200-mile range of cars not attractive for regular sports car drivers
● High manufacturing costs mean a high-price product
● No cheaper product for the mass market
Opportunities:
● Big car manufacturers might avoid high-risk markets. (i.e. barriers to entry are
high for new competitors)
● Government electric cars incentive might not necessarily introduce new
competitors, but will probably raise awareness of electric cars as a whole.
● Possibility of government investment money
● The weak pound makes exporting more attractive and potentially opens up
new markets in Europe and the US
Threats:
● As electric car technology becomes cheaper and more mainstream, barriers to
entry may become lower; this may mean more competition
● Global economic downturn affecting the size and spending power of the luxury
goods market; they are in a high-risk market segment
d Students work alone to complete the expressions before going through them with
the class. You could play the recording again for students to check their answers
or ask them to look at Audioscript 2.1 on page 89–90.
Answers
Talking about strengths
1 main
2 means
3 happy
4 another
Talking about weaknesses
1 potential
2 another of
3 lack
4 potential
Talking about opportunities
1 present
2 less competition
3 moving into
Talking about threats
1 negatively
2 affecting
3 comes to
Extension activity: talking about strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats
Students test each other on the phrases in pairs. One student reads the
beginning of an expression from Exercise 4d (e.g. Our main …) to elicit the
ending (e.g. strength is).
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
e Students complete their SWOT analyses in pairs. Make sure they know to use the
expressions from Exercise 4d. If they need inspiration choosing a company, they
could use one of the mission statements from the Extension activity following
Exercise 1b above.
5 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
b Students listen to answer the questions.
2.2 page 90
Answers
1 Carry out a Five Forces analysis as part of the audit.
2 Suggested answer
The Five Forces model is used to analyse the competitive environment of
an organisation. Monitoring these forces helps provide insight into the
competition within an industry and helps determine the degree of future
competition. It is therefore a useful planning tool for clarifying objectives and
strategy.
c
Students match the forces to the questions and then listen to check.
2.3 page 90
Answers
1 e 2 a 3 d 4 b 5 c
Extension activity: extreme cases
For each of the five forces, students try to think of extreme cases (e.g. an
industry where buyers have very strong power to reduce prices and one
where buyers have virtually no bargaining power).
d Students work in pairs to match the forces to the headings.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
A Bargaining power of suppliers
B Bargaining power of buyers
E Competitive rivalry
D The threat of substitute products
C The threat of new entrants
Extension activity: interpreting a Five Forces analysis
Students discuss what can be done with the information in the notes, e.g. is
the company in a strong, moderate or weak position with regard to the five
forces? How could it improve the areas where it is weak?
e Discuss the questions with the class.
Answers
1 She mainly uses the present simple, because she is talking about things that
are generally true for the company at the moment.
2 However
f
23
In pairs, students discuss the five forces for the organisation they discussed
before. They then write a Five Forces analysis either together or as homework.
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
Marketing objectives
Before you begin …
Brainstorm onto the board a list of nouns and verbs connected with objectives.
Elicit any differences in meaning between them.
Suggested answers
a goal / a target / an aim / an objective
to aim for sth / to target sth/sb / to focus on sb/doing sth
to try/attempt/strive to do sth
to achieve sth / to accomplish sth
to meet an objective
to reach/hit a target
to miss a target
Note
Objective can be a noun or an adjective. As an adjective, it contrasts with
subjective (= biased, based on opinions). In Exercise 6a, it states that a
measurable objective can be objectively evaluated.
6 a
Students work in pairs to complete the matching exercise.
Answers
2 e 3 c 4 d 5 a
b Students work in small groups to discuss Gavin’s three objectives in terms of the
five criteria. Go through the answers with the class.
Answers
Objective 1 is SMART, based on what we know about the company. Objectives 2
and 3 could be made SMARTer in the following ways:
Objective 2 To increase our market share by 10% over the next 12 months by
converting customers ...
Objective 3 To expand into new markets in Europe (Spain, Italy and Germany)
and the US, generating an acceptable return on investment (ROI) of 15% by the
end of 2012.
Language note
Return on investment (ROI) is a common accounting and business calculation.
It is calculated as the profit from an investment for a given period of time (e.g. a
year) as a percentage of the amount invested. It can be calculated for a particular
investment (e.g. the return generated by a TV advertising campaign or a new
machine) or for the company’s investment in general.
c
Students work in pairs to complete the phrases. Encourage them to refer back to
Exercise 6b to check.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
increase/generate; of; by; over; by
convert; of
expand; into
increase/generate/expand; by; over; by
generate; of; over; by
d Students work in pairs to decide which collocation does not work. Encourage
them to refer back to Exercise 6b to check. When you check with the group, elicit
what is wrong with the non-collocation.
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
position
enter
position
fall
position
raise
enhance
position
e Students work in small groups to write a list of SMART objectives for the
organisation they have been discussing. Afterwards, they analyse other groups’
objectives to check if they are SMART.
Extension activity: writing a marketing plan (part 1)
Students bring together the various pieces of writing from this unit to create
the first part of a marketing plan for their chosen company. They should aim
to make this as professional and complete as possible.
Additional activity
Worksheet 2 at the end of this unit contains a crossword to revise vocabulary
from the unit. Point out that the numbers in brackets refer to the number of
letters in each word, and that some answers contain more than one word.
You may choose to do one or two clues with the class to make sure they
understand. Students can do the crossword in teams (where it could be a
race) or as a homework activity.
Answers
W E
T
E
B
C
A
H
R
N
R
O
I
M
L
E
E
O
R
A
G
S
S
I
T
U
C
O
R
A C H I E V A
L
R
B
O
T
L
B
B
R
E
U
J
Y
Y
E
T
E
C
I
R
T
M I S S I O N S T
E
V
B U D G E T
A U
O
S
U
N
D
1
3
4
7
11
14
18
21
25
26
25
27
A K N E S S
I
C O R E
H
E
M
A
R
K
E C O N
T
P
P
B L E
O
N
R
V
T H
I
U
R
N
S O C I O
N
T
M
I
A T E M E N
N
S
D I T
A
T
L E G A
C
T
I
C
S
2
E S
5
V A L U E S
8
9
12
15
20
28
29
E
X
E
C
U
T
I
O M I C
V
E
S
S
T
U
R
S
M
R E A T S
U
M
E
T
P
P O L I T I C A L
A
E
E
P
R
L O G I C A L
Y
I
Y
I
I
S
S
F
E N T R A N T S
T
I
R
I
R
I
C
S
V
E
C
A
N
L
G
L
R
H
Y
T
S
6
10
13
16
17
19
22
23
24
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
Background information and useful web links
Marketing plan
For many organisations, a marketing plan is created every year to cover the following
12 months. Some organisations try to create plans for longer periods (3 to 5 years).
It is important to distinguish between the process (the activity of marketing planning)
and the finished document (the marketing plan). Both the process and the document
typically start with general objectives of the whole organisation and move through
specific products and services, and techniques for achieving marketing objectives for
those products and services.
One model for the process of creating a marketing plan is Kotler’s five-stage
marketing process model.
1
2
3
4
5
Market and environment analysis
Fixing marketing target
Setting marketing strategy
Marketing mix
Marketing controlling
A simple model for the plan itself uses the acronym MOST:
Mission: What is the overall goal of the business?
Objectives: What are you trying to achieve over the next 12 months?
Strategies: What resources need to be applied to achieve these objectives?
Tactics: What exactly will you do? When?
See sample marketing plans below for a good overview of the sections in a typical
plan.
Useful web links
Marketing plan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_plan
Sample marketing plans
http://www.paloalto.co.uk/software/marketing_plan_pro/samples.cfm
Marketing plan – sample plan
http://www.consultancymarketing.co.uk/marketing-plan.htm
How to write a marketing plan
http://www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/how-to-write-a-marketingplan
How to write a marketing plan
http://www.infotoday.com/mls/jun99/how-to.htm
Strategic marketing plan
http://www.themarketingprocessco.com/document_downloads/exmar_example_
marketing_plan_summary.pdf
Mission statements
These are short statements explaining why the company exists. It is very important to
have a mission statement in order to avoid drift (the company exists in order to exist)
and to remain focused on the most important areas (and therefore not to get involved
in business that does not support the mission statement). Unfortunately, many
companies spend a lot of effort creating a mission statement, getting their employees
to buy into it, communicating it, etc., and then forget it exists or choose to ignore it.
If a mission statement is not driving the company in the right direction, the company
needs a new mission statement.
Useful web links
Fortune 500 mission statements
http://www.missionstatements.com/fortune_500_mission_statements.html
Mission statement generator
http://www.netinsight.co.uk/portfolio/mission/missgen_intro.asp
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
PESTEL analysis
This is an analysis of external macro-environmental factors affecting the company.
A PESTEL analysis has many alternative names and versions:
STEP/PEST analysis = social, technological, economic, political factors
SLEPT = STEP + legal factors
PESTLE/PESTEL = SLEPT + environmental
STEEPLED = PESTEL + education + demographic
Useful web links
PEST analysis
http://www.businessballs.com/pestanalysisfreetemplate.htm
SLEPT analysis
http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/theory/theory.php?tID=235
SWOT analysis
This is broader than a PESTEL analysis, as it involves internal as well as external
factors. Strengths and weaknesses are internal. Opportunities and threats are
external (and may include the PESTEL elements). Unlike PESTEL, however, a SWOT
analysis must be used in conjunction with a particular objective for a company or
project. One way of using a SWOT analysis is to use it to generate ideas.
●●
How can we use and capitalise on each Strength?
●●
How can we improve each Weakness?
●●
How can we exploit and benefit from each Opportunity?
●●
How can we mitigate each Threat?
Useful web links
SWOT analysis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis
SWOT analysis (video and template)
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm
SWOT analysis
http://www.businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetemplate.htm
SWOT analysis lesson
http://www.marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_swot.htm
Five Forces analysis
This industry analysis framework was created by Michael E Porter in 1979 to
analyse competitive intensity of a market. A market’s attractiveness to new entrants
is determined by the strength of the five forces: if there is low competition, a new
entrant can make easy money. If there is intense competition, the new entrant could
well lose money and struggle to survive.
Porter’s Five Forces are described as the micro-environment, i.e. they focus on the
limited world of the company, its competitors, its suppliers and customers – in
contrast to the macro-environment analysed in a PESTEL analysis.
The Five Forces are:
27
●●
The threat of substitute products
●●
The threat of the entry of new competitors
●●
The intensity of competitive rivalry
●●
The bargaining power of customers
●●
The bargaining power of suppliers
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
Useful web links
Five Forces analysis
http://www.marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_fivefoces.htm
Porter’s Five Forces
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_08.htm
Porter’s Five Forces
http://www.themanager.org/pdf/p5f.pdf
SMART Objectives
A common mistake people make when setting objectives is to leave them vague, so
that it is impossible to assess properly whether they have been achieved. For this
reason, many organisations insist that objectives must be SMART:
Specific: clear, well-defined. Include a statement of what is not an objective.
Measurable: allows progress and completion to be measured precisely.
Achievable: it must be possible for the person or team to achieve the objective.
Realistic: is it possible to achieve the objectives with the resources and time you have?
Timebound: need a date by which you need to achieve the objective.
There are many variations on the theme: A may stand for attainable, R for relevant, T
for timely, etc.
Useful web links
SMART objectives
http://www.learnmarketing.net/smart.htm
SMART objectives
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/hr/performance_management/smart_objectives.
htm
SMART goals are out DUMB goals are in
http://www.evancarmichael.com/Marketing/1160/SMART-Goals-are-out-DUMB-Goalsare-in.html
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UNIT 2 The marketing plan 1: audit and objectives Teacher’s Notes
Worksheet 2
1
3
W
2
N
T
B
4
5
7
C
E
6
M
8
E
9
O
S
10
A
E
11
12
S
13
O
T
14
R
15
16
S
17
B
P
18
19
S
20
T
S
21
22
E
23
R
24
M
25
B
26
A
27
T
28
L
29
Across
1 The W in SWOT. (10)
5 Most important beliefs. (4, 6)
8 The part of the PESTEL connected with the
business environment. (8)
11 The A in SMART. (10)
15 The T in SWOT. (7)
19 The P in PESTEL. (9)
20 The S in PESTEL. (12)
23 The threat of new ________. (8)
25 Document explaining why the company exists.
(7, 9)
26 Section of marketing plan connected with
costs and income. (6)
27 Includes SWOT, PESTEL and Five Forces
analyses. (5)
29 The L in PESTEL. (5)
29
Down
2 Situation when buyers are limited in number, and
specialised. (5, 6)
3 The T in PESTEL. (13)
4 These prevent newcomers from joining a market. (8, 2,
5)
6 Section of marketing plan which brings all the other
parts together. (9, 7)
7 The M in SMART (10)
9 The O in SWOT (13)
10 How an organisation intends to meet its objectives. (8)
12 The part of the PESTEL connected with natural
resources, pollution, etc. (13)
13 Bargaining power of ________ (= sellers). (9)
14 What the business wants to achieve with its marketing
plan. (10)
16 The R in SMART (9)
17 The S in SMART (8)
18 Bargaining power of ________ (= customers). (6)
21 The T in SMART (9)
22 The S in SWOT (9)
24 Competitive ________ (= desire to be better). (7)
28 Techniques for achieving specific strategies. (7)
Cambridge English for Marketing Cambridge University Press 2010 www.cambridge.org/elt/englishformarketing
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Professional English
Cambridge English for
Marketing
UNIT 3
TEACHER’S NOTES
The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics
l
Proposing a marketing strategy
Planning and discussing the marketing mix
l Presenting the marketing budget
l Writing an executive summary
l
Go to page 40 for essential background information on the topic and useful
web links
Don’t forget to use the Additional activity worksheet at the end of this unit;
notes and answers on page 33
Marketing terms can be found in the Glossary on Student’s Book pages
114–119
Refers to the Audioscript at the back of the Student’s Book
The marketing strategy
Before you begin …
Write the following quotes on the board:
●●
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is
the noise before defeat.
●●
Carving your turns better is a tactic. Choosing the right ski area in the first place is
a strategy.
Elicit from the class (1) where they think the quotes come from, and (2) how they
connect the worlds of warfare, skiing and marketing. Students then work in small
groups to come up with similar quotes based on other analogies, which you could
provide (e.g. cooking, football, love).
Answers
1 The first quote comes from Sun Tzu, a well-known 6th century Chinese
military general (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sun_Tzu). The second quote
comes from Seth Godin (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/01/
the_difference_.html), a marketing guru and leading blogger.
2 Marketing is like war: it requires co-ordination, planning and leadership.
The ‘enemy’ is the competition, or lack of interest from potential customers.
Marketing is like skiing: it takes great skill to do it well. There are easy places
to do it and much more difficult ones.
1 30
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
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UNIT 3 The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1 Strategy is the direction an organisation will take to achieve its objectives.
Tactics are the specific activities that an organisation does in order to
implement its strategy. The marketing strategy should always be decided
before the tactics, or the tactics will not have focus or a clear objective.
Strategy is longer-term than tactics. Tactics change more often than strategy.
2 Strategies: differentiation, market development, innovation, product
development, concentrated growth
Tactics: repackaging/relabelling, an advertising campaign, price promotion /
special offers, a new website, a PR campaign
2 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class. Collect
key information on the board, as this will be important throughout this unit.
Answers
Product: High-performance electric sports cars.
Customers: Similar to those of Ferrari, Porsche, etc.; that is, rich professionals,
mostly men, between 30 and 50. However, because Frezna makes electric cars,
their customers have some interest in environmental issues, too.
External environment: See full PESTEL analysis in Unit 2, page 17.
Competitive environment: They appear to be the only British company
manufacturing electric sports cars. Other electric car manufacturers focus on the
mass market. Their real competition comes from other sports car manufacturers
(Ferrari, Porsche, etc.). For more information, see the Five Forces analysis in Unit
2, page 20.
b Elicit these from the class, and/or refer them to Exercise 6b in Unit 2, and write
the objectives up on the board. These will be crucial for the rest of the unit.
Answers
1 To increase sales of the Frezna Model G Roadster in the UK by 15% before
the end of the next financial quarter.
2 To increase market share by 10% over the next 12 months by converting
customers of competing products (specifically drivers of Porsches and
Ferraris).
3 To expand into new markets in Europe (Spain, Italy and Germany) and the US,
generating a return on investment (ROI) of 15% by the end of 2012.
3 a
Students read the email to answer the questions. When they have checked with a
partner, go through the answers with the class.
Answers
1 to increase awareness of electric cars in general; raise brand awareness of
Frezna specifically; to enter new overseas markets (and to create international
distribution channels); to position Frezna as the innovators in electric car
technology and the flagship Model G Roadster as a real, viable alternative to
petrol-driven cars; to improve the quality of the value proposition (specifically
through improved service)
2 He doesn’t recommend thinking about new product lines.
b Students discuss the exercise in pairs and then feed back to the group.
31
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UNIT 3 The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics Teacher’s Notes
Answers
2
3
4
5
6
raising brand awareness of Frezna specifically
entering new overseas markets
new international distribution channels
new overseas markets
positioning Frezna as the innovators in electric car technology and the flagship
Model G Roadster as a real, viable alternative to petrol-driven cars
7 differentiating Frezna from the key competitors, namely Porsche and Ferrari,
and starting to take market share away from them
8 better customer service, a more personalised sales process, improved aftersales technical support
Language note
English has four demonstratives, this, that, these and those, which may be used
either as determiners (i.e. before a noun: these suggestions) or as pronouns (i.e.
instead of a noun: by doing this …). In their most literal sense, this and these are
used for pointing to something which is here, while that and those point there. In
a text, this/these tends to be used for the immediate topic of conversation, while
that/those is used for topics which were mentioned earlier but were not the most
recent topic or the main topic.
In the fourth paragraph of the email (As a first step …), the aim of the paragraph
is to introduce the strategies, which is why this/these is used to refer to them.
That is used to refer back to an objective but to avoid making the objective the
new focus of the paragraph. These is used to change the subject to international
distribution channels. Those refers back to the new markets mentioned earlier,
but without a change of subject.
As these examples show, the differences are rather subtle, and create many
problems for learners. In each of the examples given, this/these could be replaced
with that/those, with no significant change in meaning. The effect, however, would
be to create a subtle sense of distance, as if the writer was not entirely happy
with the strategies.
c
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 The future simple (will + infinitive)
2 The future simple is used because Gavin is making predictions about future
events
3 Can is a modal verb and you cannot say will + can. The infinitive of can is be
able to, so it changes to will + be able to
d Students work in pairs to rewrite the sentences and then discuss their answers
with the class.
Answers
1 this/that will help us to increase market share.
2 For this/that to be successful; these/those will allow us to reach new
customers in these/those markets.
3 this/that will help us to convert customers of competing brands.
4 doing this/that, our sales will increase.
Extension activity: phrases for structuring emails and stressing
importance
Students look back at the email in Exercise 3a to underline useful sentences
for structuring emails and stressing importance, which they could use in their
own emails.
32
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UNIT 3 The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
Structuring emails
We’re now in the … stage of the … process, and I wanted to share my initial ideas
with you.
To recap, our … are as follows:
As a first step, I think we should be aiming to …
Secondly, we should aim to …
Again, this will allow us to …, whilst also …
By doing this, we will be able to …
Another way of achieving this will be to …
All of these suggestions will help …
What I don’t think we should do at this stage is …
Stressing importance
The key to the success of that objective will be …
… will also be extremely important.
We need to …
e Students role play meetings in small groups to plan objectives. Make sure they
already have a clear set of objectives before they start – you could elicit these
onto the board before the role play.
f
Students write their emails in teams in class or as homework. Encourage them to
use as many of the techniques and phrases from Gavin’s email as they can.
Tactics: the marketing mix
Before you begin …
Additional activity
Use Worksheet 3 at the end of this unit to introduce the seven key elements
(Ps) of the marketing mix. Cut up the worksheet and ask students, in teams,
to sort the elements into seven groups (the seven Ps). Note that the numbers
in brackets refer to the number of elements in each group according to
the suggested answers below. Note that there is room for considerable
discussion about some of the elements – some may belong in more than one
group. Elicit other elements that could be included in each group, and how
each of the elements could be varied (e.g. quality could be improved through
use of more expensive materials, or it could be lowered to reduce costs).
Suggested answers
PRODUCT: Quality, Image, Branding, Features, Variants, Support, Customer
service, Availability, Warranties
PRICE: Special offers, Positioning, Discounts, Credit, Payment methods, Free or
value-added elements
PLACE: Retail/Wholesale outlets, Mail order, Internet ordering, Distribution
channels
PROMOTION: Advertising, Endorsements, User trials, Direct mailing, Leaflets/
Posters, Free gifts, Competitions, Events, Sales promotion, PR
PEOPLE: Front-line sales support, Individuals involved in marketing, Sales and
customer service staff, Recruitment, Training and skills, Corporate culture/image,
Remuneration, Management culture
PROCESS: How are services consumed?
PHYSICAL PRESENCE: Product packaging, Quality of online experience, Contact
with staff, Facilities, Company communications, Uniforms, hygiene, etc.
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UNIT 3 The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics Teacher’s Notes
4 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 The marketing mix is the combination of techniques that an organisation uses
to market itself, a product or a brand.
2 The marketing mix is formed by the ‘Ps’: product, price, place, promotion,
people, process and physical evidence.
Product refers to what you sell (the features of the product or service, the
branding, etc.).
Price is how much the product or service costs.
Place refers to how you sell your product or service (distribution channels, etc.).
Promotion refers to how you tell people about your product or service.
People refers to your employees.
Process refers to how your product is manufactured, delivered, sold or
accessed.
Physical evidence is used mostly in connection with services rather than
products. It refers to making a service tangible – that is, something that people
can hold or own – rather than intangible – something they can’t hold or own.
b Students work in pairs to match the extracts to the elements of the marketing
mix.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
h; i
c; f
j
e; g; k; l; n
m
a; b
d
Extension activity: evaluating tactics
Students discuss extracts a–n in pairs. For each extract, they should answer
these questions.
1
2
3
4
Which tactics will require very large budgets?
Which will require external agencies?
Which will require recruiting new employees?
Which will be quick and easy to implement?
Suggested answers
1
2
3
4
c
34
d, i, j, k, l, n
g, k, n
a, j, m
b, c, e, f, g, h
Students listen to write down three suggestions. Point out that there are seven
and that one is rejected. Ask students to try to identify which one.
3.1 page 90
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UNIT 3 The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics Teacher’s Notes
Answers
No new product development; concentrate on Model G.
Target people planning to buy a petrol sports car and current sports car drivers.
Increase advertising spend in motoring press.
Message should emphasise the Model G’s green credentials while highlighting its
speed and performance. The key message is that the Model G is not a sacrifice
for the sports car fan who also cares about the Earth.
Launch a major PR campaign which capitalises on the government’s electric car
initiative.
Increase presence at environmental trade events (this suggestion was rejected).
Increase presence at luxury motor shows, in Europe and the US.
d Students match the beginnings to the endings and then listen to check.
Alternatively, they could listen and complete the matching exercise.
3.1 page 90
Answers
2 i 3 d 4 f 5 g 6 c 7 a 8 j 9 h 10 e
Extension activity: making suggestions, agreeing and disagreeing
Students test each other in pairs by reading one of the beginnings to elicit
the appropriate ending.
e Students work in pairs to sort the sentences and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1
2
3
4
f
3, 6, 7
5, 9
8, 10
1, 2, 4
Students work in pairs to complete the sentences.
Suggested answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
get; highlight/emphasise; emphasise/highlight; convince
introduce/implement
remains
launch; open
increase; increase; raise
implement/introduce; employ
g Students work in small groups to review their organisation’s marketing objectives
and strategy. Before they start, make sure they are all aware of these (based on
earlier role plays). They should then discuss and list the tactics they would use to
implement the strategy.
The marketing budget
Before you begin …
Elicit from the class what percentage of turnover a company typically spends
on marketing, and whether this is higher or lower depending on the size of
the company. Students then read this text (Small companies take marketing
seriously: http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/small-companies-take-mark.
shtml) to check their answers. As a further comprehension checking exercise,
write the numbers from the article on the board. Students talk to a partner
about what each number means, and whether it surprises them.
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UNIT 3 The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics Teacher’s Notes
Answers
According to the text, small companies (i.e. those with a turnover of less than £1
million) spend over 10% of their turnover on marketing. The national average for
all firms is 7.2%.
Language note
Both sign off and sign off on are used to mean agree/approve, but when
collocating with the budget, sign off on is more common.
5 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
1 a B
y allocating (assigning / giving out) a percentage of revenue after costs
have been deducted (taken away)
b By allocating a percentage of forecast (predicted) sales
c By estimating how much it will cost to achieve each of the marketing
objectives
d By spending at least as much as or more than your competitors
e By using last year’s budget as a guide
f By spending what other organisations in your industry spend
3 The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is often responsible for signing off on
the marketing budget; however, this might differ from organisation to
organisation – for example, sometimes the Managing Director (MD) will give
the budget final approval.
4 The budget could be rejected for a number of reasons, e.g. the Marketing
Department could ask for too much money; they might be unable to justify
the amount of money they have asked for; the organisation might have little
money available to spend on marketing, perhaps because of a fall in sales;
there might be conflicting demands from other parts of the organisation, for
example R&D (Research and Development).
b Students listen to answer the questions. They discuss the questions in pairs
before feeding back to the class.
3.2 pages 90–91
Answers
1 No.
2 Deepa is assertive but polite. Gavin is worried but cooperative.
Extension activity: speaker attitudes
Elicit examples of the speakers’ attitudes during the conversation.
Suggested answers
Gavin is worried when Deepa starts talking about her concerns, but he asks lots
of questions and doesn’t try to argue with her. Deepa uses delicate language to
explain her concerns (I’ve got one or two concerns about some of these figures),
but she makes it clear that her concerns are serious and justified (I need to be
able to monitor …).
36
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UNIT 3 The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics Teacher’s Notes
c
Students listen again to answer the questions. Alternatively, they could discuss
the questions in pairs and then listen again to check. Note that in question 3 the
third ‘action’ which students have to listen for appears in the audio after hearing
the answers to ‘why Deepa says these actions are necessary’ in question 4. If
students had trouble hearing the answer after listening to the audio, it might be
a good idea to ask them to check the Audioscript.
3.2 pages 90–91
Answers
1 The significant increase in advertising spend, specifically magazine advertising
2 He is confident that they are advertising in the correct places and that
the campaign will be successful. He says, ‘It’s going to be a very targeted
campaign; we know exactly where to advertise to make sure that our message
gets to the right people.’
3 Calculate the return on investment (of the increase in advertising spend); put
in place a monthly review of real performance against budget for the whole
marketing plan; develop some marketing metrics to measure the success of
the activities Gavin is proposing
4 Because of the economic climate the Marketing Department needs to be able
to justify all of the money it’s spending; and because she needs to be able to
monitor if they are over budget or under budget.
d Students work in pairs to complete the extracts. Students could then test each
other by reading the beginning of a collocation to elicit the ending.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
on
cost-effective
concrete
calculate
against
metrics
Extension activity: techniques and phrases for being assertive but
polite
Students read Audioscript 3.2 on pages 90–91 to underline phrases that
Deepa uses to show that she is assertive but polite. Elicit the techniques that
she uses. Go through the answers with the class.
• Explaining why she’s calling: I just wanted to let you know that …
• Explaining her concerns, but emphasising that there are only a few: I’ve got
one or two concerns about some of these figures.
• Rhetorical question, to give Gavin the chance to justify decisions: Is magazine
advertising really the most cost-effective way …?
• Reassuring but explaining her concerns: I don’t doubt that, Gavin, but if I’m
going to approve a budget of this size, I need to see some concrete figures.
• Assigning work, justified in terms of what she needs: I need you to calculate
the return …; I also want to put in place …
• Justifying tough choices based on external factors: Listen, Gavin, in the
current economic climate, the Marketing Department needs to …
• Making and justifying a suggestion: I think we should develop some marketing
metrics to properly measure …
• Involving Gavin, making her request less aggressive: … you know, number of
enquiries per advert, that kind of thing.
e Students discuss the questions in pairs. Point out that the purpose of the
exercise is to practise the useful collocations, and that students can invent any
details necessary to complete the task.
37
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UNIT 3 The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics Teacher’s Notes
f
Students role play the meeting in pairs. Encourage students to use the useful
language from this section.
The executive summary
Before you begin …
Print some examples of executive summaries of marketing plans (see http://www.
docstoc.com/search/marketing-plan-executive-summary-examples/ for a good source
of samples). Students work in groups to identify the sort of information that is
included in the summaries, and any language techniques that are used in them.
6 a
Students discuss the statements in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
F – it should be the last thing you write.
T
F – it shouldn’t contain any new information.
T
F – the summary should be written in strong, positive language.
T
b Students work in pairs to put the extracts in the right order.
Answers
1 D 2 B 3 A 4 C
c
Students work in pairs to match the sentence halves.
Answers
2 f 3 b 4 d 5 e 6 a 7 g
d Discuss this with the whole class.
Answers
He is using adverbs (substantially; ideally).
Extension activity: the language of executive summaries
Students work in pairs to identify in the executive summary more examples
of (1) useful collocations and (2) strong, positive language. They could do the
same with the authentic examples of executive summaries (see Before you
begin … above).
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UNIT 3 The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
(strong, positive language in bold)
key marketing objectives
to increase sales
to increase market share
to convert customers
to expand into new markets
to generate a return on investment
increasing awareness
to pose a serious threat
to give sb the ideal opportunity to do sth
to move into foreign markets
in a strong competitive position
barriers to entry
to take market share from sb
to use sth to our advantage
a marketing challenge
an aggressive PR campaign
a higher presence at sth
to take a message to the world
to establish the brand as the world leader in sth
to communicate a message
e Students work in pairs to complete the extracts. When you discuss the answers
with the group, point out why certain collocations are better than others.
Answers
(The more frequent adverb is given first)
1 highly/hugely
2 rapidly/aggressively/fast
3 perfectly/uniquely
4 vigorously/successfully/fiercely
5 hugely/highly
6 highly/fiercely/aggressively
f
Students follow the guidelines to write an executive summary, using the one Gavin
wrote to help them.
Extension activity: writing a marketing plan (part 2)
Students bring together all the writing they have done from Units 2 and 3 to
build a complete marketing plan.
39
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UNIT 3 The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics Teacher’s Notes
Background information and useful web links
Marketing strategy
A key part of marketing strategy is to identify your target market and to divide it into
segments, each characterised by its needs. The strategy should then be to match
the strengths of your product or service to the needs of each segment, and to draw
attention to those strengths in your communication with that segment.
Useful web links
Marketing strategy for your marketing plan
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&item
Id=1075313270
Create your marketing strategy
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1073900352
The difference between strategy and tactics
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/01/the_difference_.html
Tactics
This relates to the actual actions to be taken, and is closely related to the marketing
mix. The set of tactics chosen will relate to each part of the marketing mix and the
chosen balance between each of them.
Useful web links
Plan your marketing tactics
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&item
Id=1075314178
Marketing tactics
http://www.bized.co.uk/educators/16-19/business/marketing/lesson/tactics1.htm
Marketing mix
This is one of the most famous elements of marketing: the so-called Four Ps – a set of
four controllable marketing tools to achieve a company’s objectives. The Four Ps are:
●●
Product: What is it? This also covers services – what exactly is sold?
●●
Price: How much do customers pay?
●●
Place: Where can customers buy it? Includes distribution channels.
●●
Promotion: All communications to persuade customers to buy the product:
advertising, public relations, point of sale displays and word of mouth.
The Four Ps have been expanded into seven, with the addition of the following
elements:
●●
People: all employees who influence the perception of the product.
●●
Process: procedures, mechanisms and flow of activities.
●●
Physical presence: a direct sensory experience that allows a customer to measure
whether he/she has received value.
The Seven Ps are especially relevant for companies selling services.
Other candidates for Ps include Packaging, Public opinion and Political power.
It has been proposed that the Four Ps be replaced by Four Cs (Consumer, Cost,
Convenience and Communication), which are more consumer-focused.
Useful web links
Marketing mix
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_mix
How to achieve an effective marketing mix
http://www.cim.co.uk/filestore/resources/10minguides/marketingmix.pdf
Marketing mix (Price, Place, Promotion, Product)
http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/theory/theory--marketing-mix-(price-place-promotionproduct)--243.php
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UNIT 3 The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics Teacher’s Notes
Marketing budget
This is one of the most important and difficult aspects of marketing, but one which
is often overlooked because it is not especially creative or fun. The six approaches
to setting a marketing budget listed in Exercise 5a on Student’s Book page 26 are
explained below:
●●
The affordable approach: After calculating gross margins and determining required
net profits, whatever is left after all other costs and expenses are allocated towards
the marketing communications budget.
●●
The percentage of sales approach: The marketing budget is fixed as an agreed
percentage (e.g. 5%) of sales figures. The problem here is that falling sales may
lead to falling marketing spending, where in fact an increase in spending may be
required.
●●
The objective-and-task approach: This requires specific objectives and detailed
tasks which need to be completed to achieve these objectives.
●●
Competitive parity: Spending is based on what competitors have spent in previous
years or are going to spend this year.
●●
The past experience approach (last year’s budget plus or minus method):
Companies base their budgets on previous years’ spending. If an earlier year’s
budget is found to be too low, a higher one is set for the next year.
●●
The industry norm method: The company ascertains an amount or a percentage of
sales that is typical for their branch of industry.
Useful web links
Sample marketing plan (with budget)
http://www.morebusiness.com/templates_worksheets/bplans/printpre.brc
Marketing budget as a percentage of operation budget?
http://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstID=8601
Small companies take marketing seriously
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/small-companies-take-mark.shtml
How to determine your marketing budget and get it approved
http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/tips/articles/marketing-budget.cfm
Creating a marketing budget
http://www.marketing-plan-success.com/Articles/Budget/
Executive summary
Although this is usually the first thing that readers see when they read a marketing
plan, it should be the last thing that is written. It is aimed at senior management, who
are expected to be too busy to read the full document, or who need to get a quick
overview in order that they can study the details more carefully later. The executive
summary must, of course, contain the same information as the full marketing plan,
but it should put a positive spin on the content – by explaining how all the facts and
figures will help the business to achieve its objectives.
Useful web links
Marketing plan executive summary examples
http://www.docstoc.com/search/marketing-plan-executive-summary-examples/
Pasta restaurant marketing plan executive summary
http://www.mplans.com/sample_marketing_plans/pasta_restaurant_marketing_plan/
executive_summary_fc.cfm
Sample marketing plan: executive summary
http://www.morebusiness.com/templates_worksheets/bplans/printpre.brc
Writing the executive summary of the business plan
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/businessplans/a/execsummary.htm
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UNIT 3 The marketing plan 2: strategy and tactics Teacher’s Notes
Worksheet 3
PRODUCT (9)
PRICE (6)
PLACE (4)
PROMOTION (10)
PEOPLE (8)
PROCESS (1)
PHYSICAL PRESENCE (6)
Quality
Image
Branding
Features
Variants
Support
Customer service
Availability
Warranties
Special offers
Advertising
Endorsements
User trials
Direct mailing
Leaflets/Posters
Free gifts
Competitions
Events
Sales promotion
PR
Positioning
Discounts
Credit
Payment methods
Free or value-added elements
Retail/Wholesale outlets
Mail order
Internet ordering
Distribution channels
Front-line sales support
Individuals involved in
marketing
Sales and customer service
staff
Recruitment
Training and skills
Corporate culture/image
Remuneration
Management culture
How are services consumed?
Product packaging
Quality of online experience
Contact with staff
Facilities
Company communications
Uniforms, hygiene, etc.
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Professional English
Cambridge English for
Marketing
UNIT 4
TEACHER’S NOTES
International customer communications
l
Respecting differences in cultural attitudes and behaviours
Summarising a meeting
l Describing a target market segment
l Adapting a message for a new market
l Presenting and giving feedback on concepts
l
Go to page 55 for essential background information on the topic and useful
web links
Don’t forget to use the Additional activity worksheet at the end of this unit;
notes and answers on page 43
Marketing terms can be found in the Glossary on Student’s Book pages
114–119
Refers to the Audioscript at the back of the Student’s Book
An overseas trip
Before you begin …
Elicit from the class if students have spent time abroad, either for business or
pleasure, and what issues might be more important with international marketing
than with domestic marketing.
Suggested answers
Much more dependent on agencies, etc. to inform marketers about target
market. Less able to trust instincts. Need to reposition product in new market
(pricing, image).
Additional activity
Worksheet 4 at the end of this unit provides some background information to
World Finer Foods.
1 When students have read about Kalamara in the introduction on Student’s
Book page 30, tell them to read the text about World Finer Foods. They
discuss the questions with a partner and then feed back to the class.
2 Students work in pairs to match the beginnings to the endings without
looking back at the text. Finally, they match the collocations in bold to the
explanations. Afterwards, students test each other by reading one of the
beginnings to elicit the ending, or one of the definitions to elicit the phrase.
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1 1 No. World Finer Foods does source food products from around the
country (i.e. in the US), but its distributors service supermarkets
nationwide – this is, in all parts of one country, America.
2 Yes. World Finer Foods sources food products from around the world and
distributes them nationwide (i.e. in the US).
3 No. World Finer Foods only sources speciality foods – that is, products
that are particularly good because they come from a certain place. Greek
olive oil is a good example. Coca-Cola, Hershey’s and Kraft all massproduce food products all over the world. They make mass-market food
products, not speciality foods.
4 Yes. World Finer Foods offers specialty food companies cost-effective
access to top-of-the-line sales, marketing and distribution expertise.
They also have a comprehensive network of Specialty Food Distributors
who service supermarket retailers nationwide.
5 Yes. They can help with FDA issues and U.S. Customs clearance.
2 1 f
6 e
11 l
2 c
7 h
12 i
3 m
8 d
13 g
4 k
9 j
5 b
10 a
full-service company I
provide B
source E
affordable M
comprehensive network C
top-of-the-line A
service G
excel J
exclusive agent L
inventory management F
in close partnership with D
freight forwarding and consolidation H
handled K
1 a
Check students understand the words in the questions (e.g. polite, get down to
business, misunderstand) before they listen. Students then listen to answer the
questions. When they have discussed their answers with a partner, go through
them with the class.
4.1 page 91
Suggested answers
(based on how a native English speaker might assess the two speakers)
1 B (although Stephanos’s intonation makes him sound a little less polite than
he actually is)
2 B
3 S
4 M
5 S
6 B
b Students discuss the issues in small groups and then feed back to the class.
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
Way of communicating: Stephanos seems keener to have a face-to-face meeting
than Melissa; there is a sense that she would have been happy to have this
conversation over the phone.
Time: Melissa seems keener to get down to business more quickly.
Small talk: although the topics of small talk were fine, Stephanos seems keener to
make small talk. Melissa decides not to continue the small talk when Stephanos
mentions tourism: she could have given him some suggestions about what sights
to see in New York.
Relationships: Stephanos seems keener to build a personal relationship before
getting down to business. For example, he has suggested the face-to-face
meeting and he goes on to suggest that he and Melissa have lunch, which is not
something Melissa is expecting.
Language problems: Stephanos’s intonation makes him sound a little less polite
than he actually is, which can be a common problem for non-native speakers.
Stephanos also misunderstands something (agenda) that Melissa says because
it is a ‘false friend’ – a word that sounds like something in his own language,
but that means something else in English. Melissa mispronounces Stephanos's
surname.
c
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the group. You may
use the following prompts to guide the discussion.
●●
Style of communicating: In some cultures, it is normal to give direct orders (Give
me the report), while in others it is necessary to bury the instruction in a question
(Could you give me the report?) or an indirect statement (It would be great if you
could …). Cultures vary widely in the extent to which they use words like please,
thank you and sorry.
●●
Way of communicating: In some cultures, body language is an essential part
of communication, so face-to-face contact is strongly preferred. In others,
communication may follow turn-taking rules, so that email communication may be
similar enough to face-to-face communication.
●●
Punctuality: In some cultures, it is normal/expected/acceptable to arrive slightly late
for social or business events; in others, this is considered very rude.
●●
Time: In some cultures, it is important to get straight down to business. In others,
it is essential to take time building relationships through rituals (e.g. tea or coffee)
and small talk.
●●
Small talk: This is much more important in some cultures than in others. Some
topics may be normal in one culture but odd or even taboo in another (e.g. talking
about how much you earn).
●●
Relationships: In some cultures, it is vital to build personal relationships and to
signal friendship (e.g. by drinking together or playing golf) before business can be
done.
●●
Formality: Cultures vary in the acceptability of first names, the use of titles and
qualifications (e.g. Master, Professor), dress code in a business environment (e.g.
ties, suits, jeans) and style of language (e.g. direct or delicate).
●●
Language problems: Simple mistakes in grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation
may cause problems; speakers of some languages may sound bored, aggressive
or excited when they speak English; false friends (similar words which mean
something different in different languages) can lead to major and unexpected
misunderstandings; people from some cultures may be hesitant to admit they have
failed to understand.
d Students discuss in pairs which expressions they remember from the
conversation, and then listen to the last part again to check.
4.2 page 91
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
Answers
Explaining the reason for the breakdown in communication: Sorry, that word
means something different in Greek; I thought that you wanted/didn’t want to …
Acknowledging and moving on: Sorry, please continue.; No, that’s OK.
Making the other person feel more comfortable: But if you’d prefer not to …
that’s fine.
e Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
4.2 page 91
Suggested answer
2 Tone of voice can be very important in using these expressions. Remember
that tone of voice can convey a lot of meaning, especially in sensitive
situations such as these.
Extension activity: dealing with communication breakdowns
Students test each other on the phrases from the table by reading the
beginning of an expression to elicit the ending. They could also read one
of the table headings to elicit some of the complete expressions for that
heading.
f
Students work in pairs to plan their dialogues. Make sure they realise not
to write the dialogues in full. The situations could be similar to the one in
Audioscript 4.1 (but with different nationalities), or it could be built around
another situation where cultural differences are important (such as buying
presents or paying for a meal in a restaurant). It is important that the dialogues
should be fairly authentic and show people trying and failing to communicate,
rather than deliberately offending each other. Encourage students to use phrases
from Exercise 1d to deal with the communication breakdowns – the dialogues
should end in successful communication.
g Students take turns to act out their dialogues in front of the class. Remind them
to focus on intonation. Give feedback on the effectiveness of the way they dealt
with communication breakdowns.
Extension activity: olive oil
Elicit from the class what the photos at the beginning of the unit show and
what students know or can guess about olive oil from a marketing point of
view. You could use the grid below to generate ideas, and add more rows
based on students’ own ideas.
Home markets
Export markets
Examples of
countries
Mass market or
niche market?
Typical customers
Range of products
Pricing/
Segmentation
Packaging
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
Home markets
Export markets
Examples of
countries
Spain, Greece, Italy
Northern Europe, US
Mass market or
niche market?
Mass market
Niche market
Typical customers
Everybody
Elites (richer, more interested
in recreational cooking, may
be interested in taste and/or
image more than price)
Range of products
Wide, from low-end to
high-end
Limited (within supermarkets)
with better quality available
from specialist retailers
Pricing/
Segmentation
Mostly mid-price (more
Mostly low-price with
higher prices for high-end expensive than other cooking
oils), with some very expensive
product
specialist products
Packaging
Mostly plain and simple
Elegant, sophisticated, images
of Mediterranean lifestyle
Standardisation vs. adaptation
Before you begin …
Students work in pairs to make a list of up to ten well-known consumer products
in their countries, preferably from a wide range of sectors (e.g. drinks, clothes,
electronics, food, household goods). You could find some images of a wide range
of consumer products to give them inspiration (for example http://maxfoods.in/
yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/products2Header.83121105.jpg or search for
images of ‘consumer products’ or ‘FMCGs’).
Students then discuss whether these products are (a) unique to their own
country, (b) similar but not identical to products in other countries, or (c) exactly
the same in many countries. They decide what factors determine which category,
a, b or c, a given product belongs to. For products that are unique to their
country, they discuss how they could be adapted to other countries. For products
which are the same everywhere, students discuss how they could be adapted to
the local market.
Collect the best ideas from the class and open up the discussion to involve
everyone.
2 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class. Write
their answers on the board.
b Students read the first part of the email to identify the four barriers. When they
have checked with a partner they feed back to the class and compare their list
with the ideas on the board.
Answers
Market saturation (the market is already full and isn’t growing); competition from
lower-priced brands in a market that’s extremely price-conscious; the current
price of the product is too high; no culture of using olive oil in everyday cooking.
Note
The email in 2b and 2c uses American English (e.g. specialty, labeling) as
Melissa is an American working for an American company. She also uses -ize (e.g.
summarize) where a British person might use ­-ise.
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
Extension activity: phrases for summarising a meeting
Students work in pairs to underline phrases from the first part of the
email that they could use in any email to summarise what was discussed
in a meeting – in other words, all the sections which are not specific to the
meeting between Melissa and Stephanos.
Suggested answers
It was good to see you last week. I hope that you found our meeting productive
…
Please find below a summary of our discussion.
You explained that …
You said that …
As I explained during our meeting, …
The main reasons are summarized here:
As I explained, …
Remember, too, that …
Furthermore, I explained that …
c
Make sure students consider all seven Ps (from Exercise 2a). Students work
alone to read the second part of the email to find ideas for each P. They then
discuss their answers with a partner and compare them with their own ideas from
Exercise 2a.
Answers
Product: Melissa suggests developing an organic product for this market and
repositioning Kalamara as a luxury good by rebranding and repackaging.
Price: She suggests pursuing a premium pricing strategy – keeping the price high
in order to create a good impression of the product because it is expensive.
Place: She suggests that they change their route to market and target market
by focusing on speciality food stores and websites where consumers want to buy
high-quality, luxury goods. This is an example of a niche (or focus) marketing
strategy.
Promotion: She suggests alternative communication channels, namely advertising
in luxury food magazines and online; she suggests developing a new marketing
message for the target market; she suggests rebranding and repackaging/
relabelling.
People: She mentions that speciality foods stores have well-trained staff who can
explain and sell the product effectively.
Process: She talks about using the Web to gather information about their
customers, which will give them more concrete customer segmentation
information.
Physical evidence: As ‘physical evidence’ is more often used to refer to a service
rather than a product, Melissa doesn’t mention it specifically. However, her
rebranding and repackaging ideas will enhance the product’s physical evidence or
presence.
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
Extension activity: collocations
On the board, write a list of verbs from the text in one column. See below for
a long list; you may choose to shorten this list. Elicit from the class the words
or phrases that collocate with them in the text and write these on the board
in a second column, but in a mixed up order. Students then close their books
to try to remember the complete collocations, first in pairs and then as a
class.
The collocations are presented below in a non-mixed order for simplicity.
Note that words in brackets are not part of strong collocations, but rather
examples of the families of words that may collocate with a particular verb.
to enter
a market
to give
sth some thought
to make
a suggestion
to forget
about (the big chains)
to focus
on (smaller stores)
to stock
(olive oils)
to offer
products for sale
to deliver
sth direct to (a customer)
to reach
(a website)
to gather
information about (customers)
to make
the farm organic
to upgrade
facilities
to pursue
a (premium pricing) strategy
to carry out
(rebranding)
to consider
(new packaging)
to advertise
in magazines
to develop
a new message
to appeal
to (food lovers)
to pay
a premium for sth
to pursue
an idea
d Make sure students realise that the answers could be in either the first or second
part of the email, and that many of the phrases they underlined in the Extension
activity after Exercise 2b will help them in this exercise. Students work in pairs to
find and underline the parts of the email.
Answers
1 You explained that Kalamara produces a high-quality, extra virgin olive oil that
is widely available in Greek supermarkets; it is used as an everyday cooking
oil.
2 You said that you were keen to market your product in the US in a similar way.
3 At the end of our meeting, you asked me to think about ways that Kalamara
might still be able to enter the market, despite the above barriers.
4 You mentioned in our meeting that you are considering making the Kalamara
olive farm organic and upgrading your production facilities.
e Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class. You could
also ask why the language changed from the spoken words to the written email.
(See Language note on page 50).
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1 explain, say, ask, mention
2 As I explained during our meeting, World Finer Foods will not able to act as
Kalamara’s US distributor if you choose to proceed in this way.
As I explained, American supermarket shoppers don’t buy olive oil based on
quality; they buy on price, and your oil would retail at a significantly higher
price than your competitors’.
Furthermore, I explained that there is not yet a culture here of using olive oil
for everyday cooking.
3 the finest, absolutely the finest = high-quality
can find it in any shop at any time = widely available
we will be able to put Kalamara on the shelf of every kitchen in the US just as
we have done, very successfully, in Greece = you were keen to market your
product in the US in a similar way
break into = enter
We want to = you are considering
Language note
Students may be familiar with the rules of reported speech, where the tenses
in direct speech are often backshifted (e.g. present becomes past, will becomes
would). Melissa didn’t use this backshifting rule to make general statements
of fact (e.g. You explained that Kalamara produces …) and to repeat her
own opinion (e.g. I explained that there is not yet …). She also doesn’t use
backshifting after the phrase As I explained / mentioned …, because this phrase
does not introduce reported speech but rather is used to repeat a statement or
opinion.
f
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Encourage students to write the useful expressions in their notebooks for future
reference.
Answers
I’d suggest that we … ; If you decided to do this, I think that it would be … ; we’d
be able to … ; We would (probably) need to …; We could also …
g Students work alone to write a short summary. Point out that the main aim is to
practise the language of summarising and suggesting, rather than to remember
all the details of the email. If you prefer, students could ‘write’ their replies orally
as if they were dictating to a secretary.
3 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 standardisation: selling the same product in the same way in all markets (also
known as undifferentiated marketing or mass marketing) e.g. Coca-Cola
adaptation: making changes to products or the communications mix in order
to more successfully compete in individual markets e.g. McDonald's
Suggested answers
2 As well as the local culture, organisations need to take into account religion,
language, availability of technology and availability of media.
Extension activity: standardisation or adaptation
Students look back at the products they discussed in the Before you begin …
activity to decide whether they use the strategy of standardisation or
adaptation or some combination of the two.
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
b Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 adaptation (of product packaging and communications)
4 a
Make sure each group has a clear idea of which organisation or product it is to
discuss. Encourage them to think of an organisation that is active in only one or
a limited number of markets. They should make notes using the seven Ps (see
Student’s Book page 24).
b Students could do the writing as homework or in pairs in the classroom.
A new message for a new market?
Before you begin …
Students read the introductory text. Elicit the following from the class.
1 Who might Kalamara’s international stakeholders be? Why is it important for all of
them to get the same message from Kalamara?
2 What touchpoints can you think of, in the context of Kalamara? What sort of
information would be communicated with each touchpoint?
Suggested answers
1 Customers, other consumers (e.g. restaurant-goers, who may enjoy food
cooked with Kalamara oil), distributors (including transport, warehousing,
etc.), suppliers (e.g. of raw materials, of packaging materials, of marketing
materials), direct employees or the employees of agents. The message is most
directly relevant to customers and those involved in communicating with or
selling to those customers, but it is important that a consistent message is
communicated to all stakeholders to avoid sending mixed messages. Suppliers
and employees need to know Kalamara’s priorities in terms of quality,
reliability and price.
2 Advertising; word-of-mouth; news stories and other publicity; packaging; instore displays; the experience of buying the product (including the experience
of going to speciality shops); experience of the product while cooking;
experience of the product while eating (including when others cook – at
home or in a restaurant); seeing the product in other homes/restaurants,
etc.; website; after-sales customer-service (e.g. complaints); product brand on
delivery vehicles, boxes, etc.; brand on recruitment adverts, etc.; emails and
letters to suppliers, agents and partners; etc.
5 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then read the extract to check.
You may need to check students are familiar with the concept of USP (see
Background information at the end of this unit).
Answers
1/2 See Melissa’s brief.
3 organic, traditional methods, state-of-the-art factory, dark glass bottles
b Students work alone to complete the brief and then check in pairs.
Answers
1 e 2 c 3 d 4 a 5 h 6 f 7 g 8 b
Extension activity: segmentation variables
Elicit from the class other options for each segmentation variable and other
possible variables (see Background information at the end of this unit for
examples).
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
c
Students listen to complete the gaps.
4.3 page 91
Answers
1
2
3
4
forties
between
evenly divided
one third
d Do this with the class first and then get students to test each other in pairs.
If they are struggling, write some similar numbers on the board to check
pronunciation.
Answers
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
one in ten
a quarter
three point six per cent
seventy-five to eighty per cent
a fifty-fifty split
one third
a half
two thirds
e Students listen to put the numbers in the order they hear them.
4.4 page 91
Answers
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
f
/3
/2
a 50/50 split
3.6%
1 in 10
1
/4 2
/3
1
1
Discuss this with the class first and then get students to test each other in pairs.
Answers
one in ten = ten per cent, one out of (every) ten
a quarter = one in four, one out of four, twenty-five per cent, one fourth
seventy-five to eighty per cent = between seventy-five and eighty per cent
a fifty-fifty split = an even split
one third = one in three, one out of three
a half = one in two, one out of two
two thirds = two in three, two out of three
g Students work in pairs to describe a market segment using Melissa’s headings.
h Students use Melissa’s model to present their target market first in pairs and
then to the class.
Before you begin …
Go through the Useful language box on Student’s Book page 87 with the class.
Elicit from the class possible endings for each phrase and what exactly it means.
6 52
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Encourage them to use the Useful language from the box on Student’s Book page
86 in their discussions.
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
Extension activity: design concepts
Students work alone or in pairs to create design concepts for Kalamara
Olive Oil, based on Melissa’s brief. The concepts should be designed as
professionally as possible, and will serve as a source for later discussions.
The concepts
Before you begin …
Print some images of design concepts or packaging/label designs from the
Internet (or display them on the screen if you have internet access in the
classroom). Good sources of innovative labels are http://www.ronhansen.com/# and
http://jamesbowskill.com/offtheshelf/. Students discuss the concepts in pairs using
the language from Exercise 6. They also discuss the possible target markets
suggested by the designs, using the criteria from Melissa’s brief in Exercise 5a.
7 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
b Students listen to the meeting and compare what is said to their answers to
question 3 in Exercise 7a.
4.5 page 91
c
Students work alone to underline the correct words and then listen again to
check.
4.5 page 91
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
‘Greece’
blue sea and a white village; Greece
a Greek-style font
a more traditional-shaped bottle; ‘quality’ and ‘tradition’.
something a little different
much more contemporary
the slogan ‘Old world flavours for the new world’
Extension activity: presenting a design
Students choose one of the images from the Before you begin … activity, or
their own design from the Extension activity after Exercise 6. They take turns
to present their image to a partner using all seven of the useful phrases in
bold from Exercise 7c.
d Students listen to the second part of the meeting to answer the questions. They
then check with a partner before going through the answers with the class.
4.6 pages 91–92
Answers
1
2
3
4
53
They both prefer concept 2.
The shape of the bottle and the typeface
The slogan
Michael and Julie probably feel fine after the feedback. This is because
Melissa is careful to give her criticism of concept 1 tactfully (that is, without
upsetting or offending them). She does this by introducing her criticism with
It’s a nice design, but ... . She then gives very concrete reasons for why the
design won’t work.
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
e Students work in pairs to complete the matching exercise and then listen again
to check. Afterwards, students test each other in pairs by reading one of the
beginnings to elicit the correct ending.
4.6 pages 91–92
Answers
2 f 3 g 4 h 5 a 6 c 7 d 8 e 9 b 10 i
f
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 a 2 a 3 a 4 b 5 b 6 b 7 a 8 a
Extension activity: presenting opinions
Students choose more images from the Before you begin … activity. They use
the phrases from Exercise 7e to present their opinions to a partner.
g Students work in pairs or small groups to present and discuss the concepts. They
may use the designs from the Extension activity after Exercise 6 for this meeting.
Encourage them to use the useful language for presenting a concept and giving
feedback from this section in their meeting.
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
Background information and useful web links
Olive oil
Olives are traditionally grown in the Mediterranean region, but have spread to
southern Africa, Australia, Japan and China. The main producer of olive oil is
Spain, with 40–45% of the market. It may be refined (i.e. produced using chemical
processes) or virgin (i.e. produced using only mechanical means). The highest grade
for consumption is extra virgin olive oil, which has a superior taste.
Useful web links
Olive oil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_oil
International/Intercultural communication problems
These occur whenever people from one culture interact with someone from another
culture, and their values, expectations and behaviour are different. Common problems
include assuming that the other person has the same attitudes as yourself (for
example, negative attitudes towards a third culture or other group) and assuming that
the other person is completely different, especially that one’s own culture is superior
and right, while the other person’s is inferior and wrong. Language issues are also
important: in some cultures it may be normal to pretend to understand what the other
person has said, in order to avoid admitting failure.
Techniques to improve intercultural communication include:
●●
Avoid using slang and idioms, choosing words that will convey only the most
specific denotative meaning.
●●
Listen carefully and, if in doubt, ask for confirmation of understanding (particularly
important if local accents and pronunciation are a problem).
●●
Recognise that accenting and intonation can cause meaning to vary significantly.
●●
Respect the local communication formalities and styles, and watch for any changes
in body language.
●●
Investigate their culture’s perception of your culture by reading literature about
your culture through their eyes before entering into communication with them. This
will allow you to prepare yourself for projected views of your culture that you will be
bearing as a visitor in their culture.
Source: Wikipedia
Useful web links
Intercultural communication principles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercultural_communication_principles
Standardisation and adaptation
This is a very important debate within marketing: should a company produce a
standard product for all markets or should it adapt its products for different markets?
Advantages of standardisation include:
55
●●
more advanced, functional, reliable, and low-priced products than customised
products
●●
economies of scale in production and purchasing
●●
faster accumulation of learning experience
●●
reduced costs of design and modification
●●
lower inventory handling, spare parts and maintenance costs
●●
lower costs of training service personnel
●●
higher levels of product and process innovations than those using product
adaptation.
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
Arguments against standardisation include:
●●
customer needs and interests in the world market are not becoming increasingly
homogeneous – idiosyncratic country-specific markets are very common and
there is substantial evidence to suggest an increasing diversity of behaviour within
countries
●●
in many cases, customers do not want to sacrifice product features and quality for
low price
●●
economies of scale may not be important in some industries.
Source: BNET
Useful web links
Standardisation versus adaptation
http://www.marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_international_marketing_product.
htm
Barriers to entry
These are obstacles that prevent a business or product from entering a new market,
or make it more difficult than for other businesses or products.
Barriers to entry into markets for firms include:
●●
advertising – new firms find it difficult to compete with established firms
●●
control of resources – may be dominated by a single firm
●●
customer loyalty
●●
economies of scale – larger firms can produce and distribute more cheaply than
smaller ones
●●
exclusive agreements with distributors or suppliers
●●
government regulations
●●
intellectual property – e.g. patents
●●
predatory pricing – dominant firms may sell at a loss to make competition more
difficult for new firms
●●
research and development – some products require a large upfront investment in
technology which will deter potential entrants.
Useful web links
Barriers to entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barriers_to_entry
Barriers to entry
http://moneyterms.co.uk/barriers-to-entry/
Touchpoints
It is important to distinguish between marketing channels and touchpoints. Channels
are methods of communication or interactivity that attract, engage, or raise awareness
among consumers, such as TV, Radio, Direct Mail, Web, Blogs, Social Media, etc.
Touchpoints, on the other hand, are ways that customers interact with a business or
brand, usually involving some type of transaction or facilitation of a service. They are
the interface of a product, service or brand with customers, non-customers, employees
and other stakeholders – before, during and after a transaction. Examples include
a catalogue, an online catalogue, an ATM, retail, online shopping, customer service,
banking, online banking, travel, etc.
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
Useful web links
But what about the touchpoints?
http://www.mpdailyfix.com/2006/06/but_what_about_the_touchpoints_1.html
Touchpoint
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchpoint
Harmonising your touchpoints
http://www.prophet.com/downloads/articles/Harmonizing%20Your%20
Touchpoints%20(SD%20TL).pdf
USP
This stands for Unique Selling Proposition or Unique Selling Point. This marketing
concept is based on the finding (in the 1940s) that marketing campaigns which
focus on what is unique about the product tend to be more successful at persuading
customers to switch brands. It can be contrasted with the UPB, the Unique Perceived
Benefit, which is how the product is seen from the customer’s point of view.
Useful web links
Unique selling proposition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_selling_proposition
Unique perceived benefit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_Perceived_Benefit
How to create your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that makes your marketing
generate more results
http://www.interactivemarketinginc.com/unique-selling-proposition.html
USP: Unique Selling Propositions and examples
http://www.morebusiness.com/running_your_business/marketing/ah_lead.brc
Market segments
This is a group of people or organisations that shares one or more characteristics that
cause it to have similar product and/or service needs. A true market segment meets
all of the following criteria:
●●
it is distinct from other segments (different segments have different needs)
●●
it is homogeneous within the segment (exhibits common needs)
●●
it responds similarly to a market stimulus
●●
it can be reached by a market intervention.
Of course, most segments don’t meet all of these criteria – they are an ideal.
Segments may be created for specific products, or generic ones may be used (such as
PRIZM NE’s 66 segments of the US population, linked below).
Examples of criteria used for segmentation:
●●
geographic variables (region of the world or country, metropolitan cities, small
cities, towns, climate, etc.)
●●
demographic variables (age, gender, family size, family life cycle, education, income,
occupation, socio-economic status, religion, nationality/race, language)
●●
psychographic variables (personality, lifestyle, value, attitude)
●●
behavioural variables (benefit sought, product usage rate, brand loyalty, product
end use, readiness-to-buy stage, buying centre, profitability, income status)
●●
technological segmentation variables (motivations, usage patterns, attitudes about
technology, fundamental values, lifestyle perspective, standard of living, profit there
is in business from the existing clients)
Useful web links
Market segment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_segment
PRIZM NE segments
http://www.tetrad.com/pub/documents/pnesegments.pdf
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
Worksheet 4
1 Look at World Finer Foods’ company profile. Could World Finer Foods help the
following companies? Find evidence in the text to support your answer.
1 An American food producer that wants to sell and market its products in Greece.
2 A foreign food producer such as Kalamara that wants to sell and market its
products in the US.
3 An American brand such as Coca-Cola, Hershey’s or Kraft that wants to improve
sales in American supermarkets.
4 A foreign food producer that wants help improving sales in American
supermarkets.
5 A foreign company that’s having problems importing food products into the US.
Company profile
World Finer Foods is a full-service sales, marketing and distribution company.
We source over 900 specialty1 food products from around the country and around
the world. These products are sold to a comprehensive network of Specialty Food
Distributors who service supermarket retailers nationwide.
We are the exclusive distribution agent for many brands, working in close
partnership with the brands’ representatives for all sales and marketing functions.
These brands are handled by our American Marketing Team division.
Our goals are to provide consumers with a wide variety of quality specialty
food products at affordable prices and to offer specialty food companies costeffective access to top-of-the-line sales, marketing and distribution expertise. Our
guaranteed services also excel in such areas as purchasing, inventory management,
freight forwarding and consolidation, FDA2 issues, U.S. Customs clearance,
warehousing and food labeling1.
As World Finer Foods is an American company, the spelling here is American English (AmE):
specialty, labelling. British English (BrE): speciality, labelling.
1
Food and Drug Administration, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human
Services, which is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety of foods.
2
Company profile text is reproduced with the permission of World Finer Foods.
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UNIT 4 International customer communications Teacher’s Notes
2 Match the beginnings (1–13) to the endings (a–m) to make useful phrases for
international marketing. Then match the phrases in bold that you have put
together to the explanations (A–M).
1 A full-service …
a … sales, marketing and
distribution expertise
A the best or most expensive
2 We source …
b … distribution agent
B to give something to
somebody
3 A comprehensive …
c … specialty food
products from around
the world
C one which covers a whole
geographical area and
range of sales outlets
4 They service …
d … with a wide variety
of products
D closely and effectively
5 An exclusive …
e … close partnership
with the brands’
representatives
E to find and obtain goods
from another place or company
6 We work in …
f … sales, marketing and
distribution company
F controlling stock levels to
maximise efficiency
7 These brands are handled
…
g … forwarding and
consolidation
G to supply products or a
service to somebody
h … by our AMT division
H transport/distribution;
putting small deliveries
together with others to
save transport costs
9 Affordable …
i … management
I one which offers support
at every stage in the process from research and
creation of content to
sales and delivery.
10 Top-of-the-line …
j … prices
J to be excellent
11 Our services excel …
k … retailers throughout
the US
K managed
12 Inventory …
l … in many areas
L one which deals with suppliers that no one else
deals with
13 Freight …
m … network of
distributors
M low, reasonable
8 We provide consumers …
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Professional English
Cambridge English for
Marketing
UNIT 5
Market research
TEACHER’S NOTES
l
Explaining research needs
Formulating and explaining a market research plan
l Moderating a focus group
l Writing survey questions; explaining survey data
l
Go to page 71 for essential background information on the topic and useful
web links
Don’t forget to use the Additional activity worksheet at the end of this unit;
notes and answers on page 64
Marketing terms can be found in the Glossary on Student’s Book pages
114–119
Refers to the Audioscript at the back of the Student’s Book
Note
Units 5, 6 and 7 work together as a single case study. In Unit 5 we are introduced
to the client, Union Direct, an internet-only bank, and a marketing agency, Hart
Marshall. The agency conducts research for the bank to discover why the bank is
struggling. As a result of the research, the bank develops a new product (Unit 6)
and launches it (Unit 7).
A research problem
Before you begin …
Elicit from the class a mind map to illustrate the three sectors of the economy,
with particular reference to the service sector. The mind map on page 61 should
provide a starting point. Elicit differences between the three sectors in terms of
the importance of marketing. Throughout this unit, you can make reference to
the range of service-sector businesses to generate case studies and ideas.
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
Farming
Light industry
Primary
sector raw
materials
Fishing
Mining
Consulting
Heavy industry
Secondary
sector manufacturing
Insurance
Construction
Tourism
Government
Banking
Legal practice
Healthcare
Waste disposal
Personal
services
Tertiary sector services
Business
services
Social services
Real estate
Retail
Education
1 a
Franchising
News media
Hospitality
(restaurants,
hotels,
Students complete the table with the company logos. Elicit more companies for
each branch of the service sector. Elicit more information about the companies –
this will provide some good input for later discussions throughout the unit.
Answers
News media: BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
Hospitality: Hilton (hotel group)
Consulting: Ernst & Young
Healthcare: BUPA (British United Provident Association)
Real estate: Knight Frank
Financial services: HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) (Note:
Ernst & Young also operate in the financial services industry.)
Note
Ernst & Young is one of the world’s largest professional services firms, and one
of the ‘big four’ auditors. It is well known for tax consulting, accounting and its
transaction advisory service.
Knight Frank is the world’s largest privately owned property consultancy service,
with offices in over 43 countries. As an estate agent, it deals with buyers and
sellers of property, and major property developers and investors.
BUPA (originally British United Provident Association) is a large British private
health insurer and provider of private healthcare and related services.
BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) is the world’s longest-established and
biggest broadcaster. Its British TV and radio operations are funded by a TV licence,
but it also has substantial commercial interests (e.g. publishing) and a strong
global presence (e.g. Internet).
Hilton Worldwide is a global hospitality company, with 3200 hotels in 77 countries.
HSBC (originally the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, but now
headquartered in London) is the world’s largest banking group.
b Students discuss the questions in pairs, using the examples from the book and
the mind map above, and then feed back to the class.
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
Challenge 1
Services are intangible, which means they exist, but they are not objects and
so they cannot be seen or touched. Service providers therefore have to help
customers to understand what exactly they are paying for.
Solutions: An object can be used which represents the service. A plastic credit
card is a good example of this. The card is physical evidence that the consumer
‘owns’ the service which the card represents. Another option is to make sure
customer service levels are very high; this can help the customer feel more
confident in what they are buying.
Challenge 2
It can be difficult for service providers to guarantee that the customer will have
a consistent experience. This is because the customer’s experience of a service
often depends on the individual employee who provides the service to them. If
the employee is having a bad day, it can affect how the customer sees the whole
organisation.
Solution: Customers’ experience of the service can be made consistent by having
high standards of staff training. This makes delivery of the service standardised.
Training customer service representatives to work from a script is a good example
of this.
Challenge 3
When goods are produced, they can be checked for quality before they are
delivered to the customer. The customer can also choose when they want to
consume the product. In service situations, however, the consumption takes place
at the same time as the production – that is, the service is being experienced
(consumed) by the customer as they interact with the company. Also, a customer
cannot take the service home to use later; the service must be consumed now.
Solutions: Again, having high levels of customer service is important – customer
service representatives need to be able to react quickly and appropriately to
customer demands. Companies can also introduce systems that allow customers
to access the service at other times; a good example of this is internet banking –
accessing and controlling your money via the Internet.
2 a
Students read the extract to answer the questions.
Answers
Hart Marshall is a market research company specialising in the financial services
industry. Their clients are probably financial services providers such as banks.
b Students work in pairs to do the matching task.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
3 a
carefully watching
encouraging
making judgements about
dividing (things) into parts or groups
making (something) as good as possible
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answer
1 To identify new customer needs and wants; when entering new markets; as
part of the new product development (NPD) process; at all stages of the
product life cycle; to monitor the dynamic (constantly changing) marketing
environment, including the actions of competitors.
b Students read the extract to decide if the statements are true or false.
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1 T
2 F – It is part of a larger banking group (FjP).
3 F – As Union Direct is an internet-only bank, customers cannot speak to a
bank employee face-to-face.
c
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
2 When Union Direct was launched, in 1988, it offered an innovative service: its
USP was 24-hour, 365-day-a-year banking. However, nowadays most banks
offer this service. Union Direct might therefore be losing customers to other
banks and new entrants into the marketplace, for example, supermarkets that
offer financial services. Also, the global financial crisis which began in 2008 had
a negative effect on customer confidence in the financial services industry.
3 All may be of interest except product testing.
Note
An internet-only bank is a bank which has no branches. It may offer additional
services such as telephone banking. See http://www.fool.com/Money/Banking/
Banking10.htm for the advantages and disadvantages of internet-only banks.
Extension activity: discussion
You may ask students to identify the advantages and disadvantages of
internet-only banks.
Suggested answers
Advantages: lower costs = lower banking charges; may provide more detailed or
more up-to-date information than traditional banks.
Disadvantages: difficult to speak to someone if there is a problem; may have
to pay other banks when withdrawing money from ATMs; may be delays in
processing cheques.
There may also be issues of trust: customers may feel safer if their bank has a
physical presence, and will not suddenly close its website and disappear.
d Students listen to make notes. When they have checked with a partner, they feed
back to the class.
5.1 page 92
Answers
1 customer loyalty (customers leaving for other banks; customers applying for
credit cards with other companies; customers investing with other banks)
2 Natasha wants Hart Marshall to find out: why customers are leaving;
customer attitudes towards competitors and the financial services industry
in general; customer purchasing patterns (changing bank accounts, investing
money, credit cards); customer expectations about service levels and financial
products; customer attitudes to Union Direct’s brand.
e Students work in pairs to put the words in the right order and then listen again
to check.
5.1 page 92
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
we need to find out why it’s happening
We’re interested in their attitudes towards
We’d also like to find out more about
We’re most interested in when and how people decide
We want to identify customer expectations about
we’d like you to focus on
we’ll need to get some input from
Extension activity: explaining information
Students test each other in pairs by reading the beginning of one of the
expressions (e.g. So, basically we need to find …) to elicit the appropriate
ending from their partner.
Additional activity
Worksheet 5 at the end of this unit focuses on the techniques Carlos uses
to interview Natasha: questions, paraphrasing and checking. Students work
through the exercises in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1
2
3
f
1 So what can we help you with this time?
2 Are there any specific areas you’d like us to focus on?
3 Would it be useful to have some demographic data, too?
4 Can you be more specific?
5 And who would you like to target?
6 And will you need some product optimisation studies done, too?
7 When can you send me a full written brief?
1 c 2 f 3 a 4 b 5 d 6 e
1 e 2 c 3 b 4 d 5 a 6 f
Students discuss the questions in pairs. Make sure they have a specific
organisation in mind. If necessary, they could use one of the organisations from
Exercise 1a as their case study, or a smaller company from one of the service
sector branches they discussed in the Before you begin ... activity above.
g Students role play the conversation in pairs. Encourage Student A to use the
expressions from Exercise 3e and Student B to use the expressions from
Worksheet 5. When they have finished, they should swap roles and repeat the
role play.
Research techniques
Before you begin …
Write some quotes about research (in general) on the board to discuss whether
they are true of market research. Source: http://thinkexist.com/quotations/research/
64
●●
There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually
find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.
(J. R. R. Tolkien)
●●
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else
has thought. (Albert Szent-Gyorgyi)
●●
Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. (Zora
Neale Hurston)
●●
The trouble with research is that it tells you what people were thinking about
yesterday, not tomorrow. It’s like driving a car using a rearview mirror. (Bernard
Loomis)
●●
Research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing. (Werner von Braun)
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
4 a
Students brainstorm market research techniques in pairs. Collect the ideas on the
board and then compare students’ answers with the list in the key on Student’s
Book page 105.
Suggested answer
running focus groups; conducting surveys (online, mail, telephone); administering
questionnaires; carrying out product tests (taste tests, package tests, etc.); using
secondary sources (newspapers, reports, etc.); employing mystery shoppers
(people who pretend to be customers in order to report on things like the quality
of customer service)
You could also ask the following question.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each research technique?
b Students discuss the question in pairs and then feed back to the class.
c
Students work in pairs to write an email to Natasha. If you prefer, you could get
students to ‘speak’ their emails to a partner.
d Students read the email to identify differences between Carlos’s plan and their
own.
Suggested answer
Carlos’s plan looks like a logical way to achieve Union Direct’s research objectives.
e Students find examples of the techniques in Carlos’s email and check if they used
the same techniques in their own emails.
Suggested answers
•
•
•
•
f
Dear Natasha,
It was good to see you last week …
Research objective; Primary research; Secondary research
The focus groups will also investigate issues …; We will then follow this with
…; We will use this survey to …; we will make an analysis of …
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 a Primary; field
b Secondary; desk
2 qualitative: the focus groups; quantitative: the online survey, the analysis of
internal sales figures
Extension activity: qualitative and quantitative research
Students look back at the list of market research techniques from Exercise 4a
to identify which techniques are qualitative and which are quantitative. Some
of the techniques could be both.
Suggested answers
• Qualitative: running focus groups; employing mystery shoppers
• Quantitative: administering questionnaires
• Both: conducting surveys (online, mail, telephone); carrying out product
tests (taste tests, package tests, etc.); using secondary sources (newspapers,
reports, etc.)
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
g Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
Primary research allows an organisation to get feedback directly from its
customers, which is what Union Direct needs. It also allows the organisation to
ask very specific questions, which will also be useful for Union Direct. The only
real disadvantage is that primary research is more expensive and takes longer
than secondary research.
h Students work in pairs to develop a research plan. Make sure they have a clear
idea before they start of the organisation and its research objectives.
i
Students underline useful expressions from Carlos’s email and then use the
phrases to write their own emails.
Suggested answers
• It was good to see you last week, and thank you for sending me a more
detailed brief for the research that you would like us to carry out for you.
• I have now developed a research plan, which I hope will give you the
information that you need.
• I’ve summarised the plan below and I’ve attached a copy of the full plan.
• We would like to focus most of our time on …
• We recommend beginning with …
• We would like to … in order to try and identify …
• We would also like to speak to … to find out about their attitudes to …
• The focus groups will also investigate issues of …
• We will then follow this with … aimed primarily at …
• We will use this … to find out more about …
• We do not anticipate that … will be required.
• However, we will make an analysis of … in order to identify …
A focus group
Before you begin …
If you have internet access in the classroom, play these clips of funny focus
groups. Students watch to assess how well the focus groups are moderated.
●●
Focus group revenge – The Graham Norton Show: http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=rLl7xZU3iXk
●●
Dodge commercial focus group: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwLUaIVSboU
Suggested answers
The first group is not especially well moderated. The moderator led the
conversation towards her own ideas (a sycophantic interviewer, guests plugging
their new products). The second group is more effectively moderated: the
moderator asks very open questions (So – what do you think?) and makes sure
all members of the panel are involved (Binky – any thoughts?).
5 a
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Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
1 Because focus groups give an organisation the opportunity to communicate
directly with its audience, they can be useful when an organisation wants to
obtain qualitative data – for example, to find out about people’s feelings or
attitudes towards an organisation, a brand, a product or a service.
2 The main advantage of focus groups over one-to-one interviews is that they
allow you to gather information from several people at the same time, which
can save time and money. Furthermore, focus groups often have synergies
that one-to-one interviews don’t have; for example, one participant’s story
may take discussion into new directions and generate many more ideas.
One potential disadvantage is that the focus group may be dominated by
one or two participants and their views can make it harder for everybody’s
opinions to be heard. Also, if the discussion goes in multiple directions, it can
lack focus.
3 A moderator’s role is to keep the conversation going – that is, to make sure
people are talking and that they are talking about the correct things. To help
with this, moderators often write a list of topics or questions that will keep the
conversation focused.
b Discuss this with the whole class.
Answers
to run a focus group (to organise a focus group)
to moderate a focus group (see answer to Exercise 5a, question 3)
to participate in a focus group (to be a member of a focus group)
6 a
Students work in pairs to make a list of topics or questions. Make sure students
realise the questions are aimed at former customers.
b Students listen to the extract to identify which questions are asked. They should
also identify what Martin and Priya said in response to each question (I didn’t
trust them; they’re much better).
5.2 page 92
Answers
2 What made you change banks?
4 How do you feel about your new bank?
c
Students listen again to identify the speakers.
5.2 page 92
Answers
1 N (Carlos asks What made you change banks? which means Why did you
decide to change banks? not What/Who forced or asked you to change
banks?)
2 N (Martin didn’t trust Union Direct with his money because he was afraid it
would go bankrupt [go bust].)
3 M (He says they’re an internet bank, aren’t they? And there was that other
internet bank … it went bust. One day, the bank didn’t exist any more.)
4 P (She says these banks, all they care about is making money from you.)
5 N (Priya says Union Direct had invested all this money in some British
company – she doesn’t say that they should invest more in British
companies.)
6 P (Priya says Union Direct had invested in a British company that makes
trainers … there were all these young children working there, six-year-old
kids!)
7 P (Priya says I don’t want my money paying for things like that … Some things
are more important than making a profit.)
d Discuss these questions with the whole class.
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answer
Carlos seems to be a very good moderator. He asks open questions; he keeps
the conversation moving; he doesn’t give his own opinion; and he doesn’t ask
leading questions – that is, questions which are designed to make a person give a
particular answer.
e Students work in pairs to complete the table.
Answers
2
3
4
5
f
Clarifying what people have said
Asking about participants’ feelings
Bringing other participants into the conversation
Keeping the conversation moving
Do the first phrases with the class as an example, and then tell students to work
in pairs to practise the phrases. Students listen and compare. You could pause
after each whole phrase so that students can repeat.
5.3 page 92
g Students work in groups of three to role play focus groups. They could choose
one of the topics they have already been discussing, or one of the following ideas.
●●
focus group of people who are not satisfied with internet-only banks
●●
focus group of people who are afraid of adopting a new technology (e.g. mobile
phones)
●●
focus group of people who have stopped watching a TV channel
●●
focus group of people who have stopped reading a newspaper
●●
focus group to evaluate various new inventions (e.g. http://innoventionmart.com/).
Make sure students realise that the aim is to practise the language of
moderating a focus group, so it is important that they use the language from this
section. Make sure every student gets a chance to run a focus group. You could
move people around between groups after each role play.
An online survey
Before you begin …
Brainstorm from the class a list of issues that need to be considered when
designing and conducting a survey, and ways of ensuring that problems are
minimised.
Suggested answers
• Must have clear objectives: know what you want to achieve.
• Must identify target market.
• Must find a way of sampling target market – how many questionnaires are
required?
• Must find a way of communicating with interviewees (getting the
questionnaire out, persuading interviewees to complete it, getting it back).
• Consider incentives to persuade interviewees to complete the questionnaire.
• Must find a way of dealing with non-respondents to ensure they don’t bias the
results.
• Must plan questions carefully to ensure they work, they make sense, and they
generate useful responses.
• Must plan how results will be analysed (simple presentation of data versus
statistical analysis?).
68
You could also print some examples of questionnaires from the Internet (e.g.
http://www.biztown.ca/resources/downloads/research-questionnaires.pdf) and get
students to complete them to identify what is good and what is less good about
them.
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
7 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
b Students read the advice and match it to the headings.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
Get a good response rate
Short is best
Remember: good questions give good data
Choose the right type of question
Think about the order of your survey
Extension activity: explaining how to write a survey
Students cover the text and use only the headings to explain the advice to a
partner.
c
Students discuss the questions with a partner and then feed back to the class.
d Students work alone to complete the matching activity and then check with a
partner. They can then test each other in pairs by reading a definition to elicit the
correct word.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
leading questions
mutually exclusive
(to) weight
incentive
respondent
(to) analyse
ambiguity
jargon
feedback
dropout rate
e Students discuss Carlos’s questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 c (the possible answers are all very close in meaning, which will lead to
ambiguity); f (the words are not mutually exclusive, for example, something
that happens often can also happen regularly)
2 e (annual percentage rate and cash advance rate are examples of jargon)
3 a (Carlos is offering three positive answers and only one negative one, which
will weight the responses towards the positive)
4 a and b (this is a good example of a leading question that is weighted towards
one answer – Carlos wants people to answer yes)
5 f (both of these answers can be true, so are not mutually exclusive)
6 d (this is two questions: Have you changed bank accounts recently? If so, why
did you change bank accounts?)
f
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Students work in pairs to improve the questions and then compare their answers
with the ones in the key on Student’s Book page 106.
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
1 How often do you change your bank account?
a Once a year or more b Every 2–5 years c I haven’t changed my
account in the last five years.
2 Which of the following is more important to you when choosing a credit card? a Paying a low amount of interest on my purchases b Paying a low amount
of interest when I use the card at an ATM (a cash machine)
3 How would you describe the quality of service you receive from Union Direct?
a Excellent b Good c Average d Poor e Very poor
4 Decide if the following things are (1) very important, (2) quite important, (3)
not very important or (4) not at all important for you. Tick (4) the box to
answer.
a My bank should reflect my views on important issues.
1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■
b My bank should take responsibility for its actions.
1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■
5 Tick (4) the statements that apply to you.
I’m a student. ■
I work. ■
6 Have you changed bank accounts in the previous two years? Tick (4) the box
to answer.
Yes ■ No ■
If Yes, please go to question 7. If No, please go to question 10.
8 Students work in pairs to complete the descriptions.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
Over
satisfied
feel very strongly that their bank should reflect
overwhelming
Around
minority
Extension activity: interpreting results
Discuss with the class how the results from the survey, combined with the
focus group, could help Union Direct to identify where it is going wrong.
9 Students write surveys in pairs. They should give each other feedback on the
quality of the questionnaires before they interview each other, to ensure they
follow the advice given in Exercise 7b. Students then interview each other using
their surveys and collect the results.
10
Students write up the results of their surveys using the expressions from
Exercise 8.
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
Background information and useful web links
Market research
It is important to distinguish between market research (i.e. research about markets)
and marketing research (i.e. research about the effectiveness of marketing activities).
Simple but important sources of primary research include:
●●
employees (i.e. the people who interact the most with your customers)
●●
comment cards (e.g. Were you satisfied with our services? How could we provide
the perfect services?)
●●
competitors (i.e. pay attention to what they are doing)
●●
customers (i.e. speak to them while they are on your premises)
●●
documentation and records of what customers are buying and not buying from you
●●
focus groups
●●
surveys by mail
●●
telephone surveys.
Important sources of secondary research include:
●●
census information
●●
business organisations (e.g. Chamber of Commerce)
●●
government departments (e.g. Department of Commerce)
●●
libraries and librarians
●●
trade and professional organisations
●●
trade and professional publications.
Companies may try to conduct research themselves, but they often use market
research agencies.
Useful web links
Market research
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_research
Marketing research
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_research
Market research
http://managementhelp.org/mrktng/mk_rsrch/mk_rsrch.htm
Research techniques
According to the article below, there are five basic methods of market research.
1
2
3
4
5
Surveys (face-to-face, telephone, mail and online surveys)
Focus groups
Personal interviews
Observation
Field trials
Useful web links
The five basic methods of market research
http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing/market-research/1287-1.html
Qualitative and quantitative research
Quantitative research is based on numbers, and allows data to be analysed
statistically to find patterns. It is important to ask a large number of respondents
exactly the same questions, which have been carefully planned in advance in order
to generate meaningful results which can be analysed. The analysis may often be
conducted using a computer database and statistical programs.
Qualitative research is more likely to involve open questions, which often are not
planned in advance. A smaller number of respondents are interviewed. The quality of
the information obtained is generally better than with quantitative research, not least
because the interviewer is less likely to influence the outcome during the planning
process. The disadvantage is that the data are very difficult to analyse or summarise.
They need to be analysed by a human, not a computer.
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
Useful web links
Definition of market research
http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?Itemid=38&id=14&option=com_
content&task=view
Quantitative research
http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id
=393&Itemid=42
Qualitative research
http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id
=394&Itemid=42
Qualitative and quantitative market research: where the twain meet ...
http://www.asiamarketresearch.com/columns/market5.htm
Integrating quantitative and qualitative methods in social marketing research
http://www.social-marketing.com/research.html
Focus groups
A focus group involves encouraging an invited group of participants to share their
thoughts, feelings, attitudes and ideas on certain subject.
Advantages of focus groups include:
●●
quick, cheap and relatively easy to assemble
●●
good for getting rich data in participants’ own words and developing deeper
insights
●●
people are able to build on one another’s responses and come up with ideas they
might not have thought of in a 1-on-1 interview
●●
good for obtaining data from children and/or people with low levels of literacy
●●
provides an opportunity to involve people in data analysis (e.g. ‘Out of the issues
we have talked about, which ones are most important to you?’)
●●
participants can act as checks and balances on one another – identifying factual
errors or extreme views.
Limitations of focus groups include:
●●
the responses of each participant are not independent
●●
a few dominant focus group members can skew the session
●●
focus groups require a skilled and experienced moderator
●●
the data which results from a focus group requires skill and experience to analyse.
Useful web links
Focus groups – how to run them
http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/focus-groups.shtml
Surveys and questionnaires
These are very widely used in market research, but need to be very carefully planned.
As described in the unit, a badly designed survey may severely distort the quality
of the information it generates. The sample of respondents must also be carefully
planned to ensure that it is a reliable sample of a whole population. The survey must
be managed to ensure a high response rate, and it must be calibrated to ensure that
non-respondents don’t distort results. (For example, are satisfied customers more
likely to respond than dissatisfied ones, or vice versa?) The results must be analysed
using professional statistical tools.
Note that a questionnaire is a set of questions. A survey is the whole process
of planning questions, creating the questionnaire, interviewing respondents and
analysing the results.
Useful web links
Statistical surveys
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_survey
Sampling (statistics)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(statistics)
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
Writing survey questions
There are three important aspects to writing a survey:
1 determining the question content, scope and purpose
2 choosing the response format that you use for collecting information from the
respondent
3 figuring out how to word the question to get at the issue of interest.
Questions fall into several categories:
●●
dichotomous questions, e.g. Yes/No, Agree/Disagree
●●
nominal questions, i.e. choosing from a list of responses, presented in no particular
order
●●
ordinal questions, i.e. ranking into an order
●●
questions to measure intervals, e.g. Likert scale: strongly agree / agree / neutral /
disagree / strongly disagree
●●
questions to measure cumulative intervals, e.g. Guttman scale: respondents tick all
the statements they agree with; the statements are ordered so that respondents
are likely to agree with all the statements above a given point and disagree with all
lower statements)
●●
filter or contingency questions, i.e. the answer to one question determines which
questions follow.
Useful web links
Constructing the survey
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/survwrit.php
How to write a good survey
http://www.accesswave.ca/~infopoll/tips.htm
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
Worksheet 5
1 Use the table to help you to put Carlos’s questions in the correct order. Leave the
shaded boxes empty.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2 74
And / So
etc.
Question
word
Auxiliary
verb
Subject
Main verb
Rest of question
So
what
can
we
help
you with this time?
we with can time help so what you this
there on us focus any like specific you’d areas are to
it demographic be some to would have useful too data
specific you more can be
target who you and like would to
will and too need studies product you optimisation some done
me can full when you brief send a written
Carlos used some important techniques for interviewing a client about needs.
Match the techniques to his sentences.
1 Ask for specifics.
a And what about branding?
2 Justify your suggestion.
b Fine. Anything else?
3 Make a suggestion in the form of a
question.
c For anything in particular?
4 Move on when you understand fully and
ask for the next information.
d OK, purchasing patterns on credit cards.
5 Paraphrase to summarise.
e OK. So, how consumers feel about your
company, or ... ?
6 Paraphrase with questioning intonation to
check.
f Given the current situation in the banking
industry, I’d recommend you do some
research into your brand, too. It could be
important.
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UNIT 5 Market research Teacher’s Notes
3 Complete these extracts from the conversation with Carlos’s sentences (a–f) from
Exercise 2.
Natasha:Yes, several. Firstly, we need to know more about consumer attitudes.
Carlos: 1
.
Natasha:Not only how they feel about us. We’re interested in their attitudes towards
our competitors and towards the financial services industry in general, too.
…
Natasha:We’d also like to find out more about purchasing patterns.
Carlos: 2
Natasha:Yes. We’re most interested in when and how people decide to change their
bank accounts.
…
Natasha:And how they decide where to invest their money – investment funds, taxfree savings accounts, that kind of thing.
Carlos: 3
Natasha:Yes – credit cards, too.
Carlos: 4
…
Natasha:The priority at this stage is to identify why we’ve been losing customers.
Carlos: 5
6
Natasha:Actually, yes, it would be useful to have some information regarding attitudes
to our brand at this stage.
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Professional English
Cambridge English for
Marketing
UNIT 6
TEACHER’S NOTES
New product development (NPD) and branding
l
Discussing possibilities in an idea generation meeting
Developing an idea into a concept statement
l Creating a brand
l Writing a brief for a brand identity
l
Go to page 85 for essential background information on the topic and useful
web links
Don’t forget to use the Additional activity worksheet at the end of this unit;
notes and answers on page 76
Marketing terms can be found in the Glossary on Student’s Book pages
114–119
Refers to the Audioscript at the back of the Student’s Book
Note
Unit 6 continues the case study of Union Direct bank, started in Unit 5 and
continuing into Unit 7. In this unit, the marketing team at Union Direct respond
to some market research (Unit 5) by developing a new product and planning a
rebrand. Unit 7 will deal with the launch of the new product.
Before you begin …
Additional activity
Use Worksheet 6 at the end of this unit to introduce the main stages of the
NPD process. Students work in teams. Cut up the worksheet and give one
set to each team. Students match the nine stages to the definitions (A–I) and
then put the stages into the most logical order. Point out that some of the
stages may take place at the same time as each other.
Answers
1 Idea generation E
2 Screening new ideas B
3 Concept development H
4 Concept testing F
5 Marketing strategy G
=6 Business analysis C
=6 Product development and optimisation I
8 Test marketing D
9 Commercialisation and launch A
(NB Marketing strategy and Business analysis stages often take place at the
same time.)
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
Idea generation
Before you begin …
Elicit from the class whether they have ever been involved in idea generation, and
what it might involve (see Background information for some techniques for idea
generation).
1 You could also elicit from the class what they remember about Union Direct and
Hart Marshall which students saw in Unit 5 of the Student’s Book.
●●
What sort of companies are they?
●●
Why have they been working together?
●●
What are they trying to achieve?
●●
What were the conclusions of the market research?
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class before
going through suggested answers.
Suggested answers
The following steps are often involved in NPD:
Idea generation – An organisation looks for new ideas for products or services
that will help it achieve its business objectives.
Screening new ideas – An organisation has to decide if the new product/service
ideas are feasible – that is, does the organisation have the time, money and
resources to produce them?
Concept development – Initial ideas are made into more concrete concepts.
Concept testing – An organisation tests the new concepts with potential
customers; the objective is to find out what they think and what changes need to
be made to the concept.
Marketing strategy – The organisation plans how it will achieve its marketing
objectives for the new product/service.
Business analysis – An organisation will analyse how profitable the new product/
service might be (how much it will cost to produce, how much it will sell for, how
much they can expect to sell, their return on investment, etc.).
Product development and optimisation – An organisation will take the initial
concept and turn it into something more concrete. In the case of manufacturing,
this might be a working model of the product, for example. Optimisation involves
carrying out more research on how to improve the product or service.
Test marketing – An organisation tries to find out how the new product or service
will perform in the market. One way of doing this is to release the product or
service into a small, controlled market first. There is then time to make changes
to the marketing mix before the main launch. This is sometimes known as a soft
launch.
Commercialisation and launch – When the organisation decides to launch the
product/service properly, it must put into place plans for manufacturing, delivery
and distribution. A promotional campaign will also be launched to promote the
new product/service’s arrival in the marketplace.
2 a
Students read the report to decide if the statements are true or false. When they
have discussed their answers with a partner, go through the answers with the
class.
Answers
1 F – They use adjectives which show that they do not trust the bank (unsafe,
risky, impersonal, greedy, secretive, irresponsible).
2 T
3 F – Customer service levels and product/service features are more important.
4 T
5 T (core means ‘most important’)
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
Extension activity: analysing a report
Make sure students understand the ten adjectives and the four core values
used in the report (innovative, convenient, flexible, independent, unsafe, risky,
impersonal, greedy, secretive, irresponsible; fairness, justice, the rule of law
and equality) by asking questions e.g. Which adjective describes someone
who wants more and more? (greedy); Which adjective describes something
which is easy to use and available when you need it? (convenient); Which core
value is associated with the idea that everyone, even powerful politicians,
businesspeople and policemen, has to follow the same rules? (rule of law).
You could ask the following questions.
1 What other adjectives could you use to describe the banking industry in general?
2 Why might it be an advantage for Union Direct if people are aware that it is part of
a large group?
3 Which is more important to you when you choose a banking product: brand loyalty,
customer service levels or product/service features?
4 Do you expect your bank to treat you with respect?
5 Do you expect your bank to represent your core values?
Suggested answers
2 Customers may feel reassured that their money is safer with a larger, wellknown bank. Reputation is especially important within the world of banking,
so it is important to have a long and stable history.
b Students listen to the meeting and make notes. Afterwards they compare their
notes with a partner and then go through the answers with the class.
6.1 pages 92–93
Suggested answers
1 Use FjP logo in branding to remind customers that Union Direct is part of a
larger group.
2 Change investment strategy.
3 Appeal to customers’ core values: develop a range of ethical products (credit
card discounts on ethical products, donate a percentage of purchases
to charity, ethical investment fund); change policy on corporate social
responsibility.
c
Students discuss in pairs the best summary and then listen again to check.
6.1 pages 92–93
Answers
b
3 a
Students discuss in pairs what the actual words might be, and then listen to the
extracts to check. When you go through Audioscript 6.2 to check answers with
the class, write the actual words on the board, as this will help in later activities.
6.2 page 93
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
78
should make
would help; were
could build
would give
could offer; gave
if we can improve; might address
might also encourage
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
b Discuss this with the class. If necessary, elicit how to say the structures in your
students’ language.
Answers
1 would; should
2 might; could
Elicit why these hypothetical structures are so useful for idea generation
activities.
Suggested answers
They enable speakers to consider ideas which may be unrealistic or impractical.
Even if the ideas are later rejected, the discussion is still useful.
Extension activity: suggesting and responding
Students look at Audioscript 6.1 on pages 92–93 and underline useful ways
of asking for suggestions, making suggestions, responding positively and
responding negatively to suggestions. Go through the answers with the class.
Encourage students to use these expressions in the role play (Exercise 3c).
Suggested answers
Asking for suggestions
Ana, what are your thoughts?
How would we do that?
Can I ask you to start thinking about ...
Making suggestions
It’s about trust, isn’t it?
What about changing our branding to reflect that?
Well, it would help if some of our investment decisions were …
And we could build on that in other ways.
Is there any way of dealing with …?
Well, what about a range of more ethical products?
Well, we could offer a new credit card …
And we could offer to donate a percentage …
Could we do something with the investment side of things, too?
What if we made some changes to our corporate social responsibility policy, too?
Responding positively
Yes, that’s a good idea. I’ll take this forward with FjP head office.
That would be helpful from a corporate image point of view.
That sounds interesting. Keep going.
You mean, what if we tried to appeal more to our customers’ core values?
Interesting …
Yes, that could work, too.
Yes, it would make sense to revisit that …
Responding negatively
But I’m not sure if simply rebranding is going to be enough.
Is this going to be enough, though?
c
79
Students work in groups of three or four to role play an idea generation meeting.
Make sure they decide before they start what their company does and what
problems it is having.
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
Concept development and testing
Before you begin …
Print some inventions from the Patently Absurd website (http://www.totallyabsurd.
com/absurd.htm) and distribute two or three to each group. The students then
play the role of a group of investors. They choose the invention which has the
most market potential (NB they should keep an open mind and a sense of
humour, as most of the inventions have very limited market potential), and plan
how to take their chosen idea forward in the NPD process. Afterwards they
present their ideas to the class.
4 a
Students work in pairs to write a list of questions for each heading. They could
choose one of the ideas from the Before you begin … section above.
b Students work in pairs to match the questions to the seven Ps.
Answers
1 a 2 c 3 d 4 g 5 e 6 b 7 f
Extension activity: the seven Ps
Students test each other in pairs by reading one of the Ps to elicit the appropriate
question from their partner.
c
Students read the notes to answer the questions. They discuss their answers in
pairs before going through them with the class.
Answers
1 A credit card with discounts on green goods (and a charity donation for every
pound spent?). A socially responsible investment (SRI) fund. Customers who
have one or both of these products get a higher rate of interest on their
normal bank account. Union Direct will also offer the best investment advice
and have the best trained staff.
2 The credit card will have no annual fee, but customers could be charged a
higher rate of interest. There will be a low annual management fee for the SRI
fund (to be decided).
3 Customers can apply for the credit card or invest in the SRI fund through
the website or over the phone. There might also be the possibility of selling
through FjP Group branches.
4 The promotional mix could include: an advertising campaign, a brand launch,
a direct marketing campaign, a digital marketing campaign, a PR campaign,
sponsorship, sales promotions, direct selling (through the call centre).
Possibility of taking part in ethical consumer exhibitions.
5 Staff training will be needed.
6 The credit card is tangible already. Possibility of producing a brochure and a
product-specific website for the SRI fund.
7 Via the website or through the call centre. Possibility of access via mobile
devices (e.g. iPhone).
Extension activity: marketing vocabulary
Tell students to find a word or phrase in the text that means the following:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
80
price reductions
the thing that makes this product different from the rest of the market
physical – something you can touch
something to encourage people to do something
a technique based on very low prices to attract as many customers as possible
questions and problems
balance between various tools for promotion, such as advertising and PR
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
discounts
USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
tangible
incentive
penetration pricing strategy
queries
promotional mix
d Students work in pairs to make notes based on their discussion in Exercise 4a. If
you prefer, students could do this orally, as if they were dictating their writing to
a secretary.
5 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
1 A concept statement is a short description of a new product or service idea.
2 The purpose of a concept statement is to make a potential customer
understand what the product or service is and how it might help them.
b Students work in pairs to complete the statement.
Answers
1 We 2 we 3 our 4 we 5 We 6 we 7 will 8 will 9 And 10 will 11 will 12 And 13 even 14 All
c
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class. Point out
that the techniques highlighted in this exercise will help students to write their
own concept statements.
Answers
1 will 2 even 3 and 4 all 5 we/our
d Students discuss the question in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 solution 2 solution 3 problem 4 solution 5 solution
e Students work in pairs to write their concept statements, using the guidelines
and language from this section. If they need inspiration, they could use one of
the examples from the Before you begin … exercise above.
Creating a brand
Before you begin …
Brainstorm onto the board a list of the world’s best brands. You will need to
establish with the class what criteria to use to decide what makes a brand good.
Then compare your ideas with the list of the world’s best brands from Interbrand
(http://www.interbrand.com/best_global_brands.aspx) and the criteria they use to
measure the strength of brands (http://www.interbrand.com/best_global_brands_
methodology.aspx?langid=1000).
6 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answer
2 Good branding can give an organisation a competitive edge in the market.
Your brand represents what you are offering the customer.
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
b Students discuss the collocations in pairs and then feed back to the class. Don’t
give the definitions yet as they are in Exercise 6c.
c
Students work alone to match the collocations to the definitions.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
brand leverage
brand image
brand personality
brand identity
brand strategy
brand objectives
brand essence
Extension activity: collocations with brand
Students test each other in pairs by reading a definition to elicit the correct
collocation.
7 a
Students discuss the question in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
A brand manager is responsible for a company’s brand(s) and brand strategy.
That may include creating new brands, or maintaining or relaunching existing
ones.
b Discuss with the class what might be involved in each of the steps. Students listen
to identify which of the steps are discussed.
6.3 page 93
Answers
define the brand
design the brand identity
c
Students complete the extracts in pairs and then listen again to check their
answers. Afterwards, go through the meaning of the difficult words (e.g. distil,
evoke, convey) with the class.
6.3 page 93
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
82
see; associate
express
cares; understands; recognises
distil; defines
conveys
represents
make; evoke
launch
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
Language note
The verb distil comes from chemistry – it refers to the process of strengthening
or purifying a liquid by changing it into a gas and then cooling it back into a
liquid. Metaphorically, it is the process of making information shorter and clearer
– extracting the key message.
The verb evoke means to cause somebody to remember something (to evoke
a memory) or feel an emotion (to evoke a feeling). Certain smells, sounds and
images can be very evocative.
The verb convey means to express a message so that it is understood by other
people.
d Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
brand image
brand image
brand personality
brand essence
brand essence
brand identity
brand identity
brand leverage
e Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Encourage them to use the phrases from Exercise 7c. They could use some of the
brands from the Interbrand ranking (see Before you begin … above).
Brand identity
Before you begin …
Print copies of these two blog articles: Writing creative briefs – what not to do
(http://brandmentoring.com/blog/2009/01/29/writing-creative-briefs-what-not-to-do/)
and How to write a good brief (http://www.thinkingjuice.co.uk/news-how-to-writea-good-brief-125.html). Students work in pairs to read one article each and to
highlight the key advice for writing briefs. They then summarise the advice to
their partner and try to find similarities between the two sets of advice.
8 a
Students work alone to match the section titles to the information and then
compare their ideas with a partner.
Answers
2 h 3 c 4 a 5 e 6 d 7 f 8 b
b Students read the extracts to identify the sections they come from.
Answers
A 4 B 6 C 8 D 2
Extension activity: analysing a brief
You could ask the following questions.
1 In paragraph A, what might be involved in aligning Union Direct to its
customers’ values?
2 In paragraph B, what does AB refer to? What other categories are there in this
system?
3 In paragraph D, what do you understand by the term ethically-sound?
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1 Bringing Union Direct’s values into line with those of its customers through
changing corporate attitudes and communicating those changes.
2 This is a social group, based on NRS social grades (see http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/NRS_social_grade). The grades refer to traditional social classes
(e.g. upper middle class, working class) or the typical jobs done by people
in the grades. A refers to senior managerial/professional people, B is middle
managerial or administrative, C1 is clerical or junior managerial, C2 is skilled
manual workers, D is unskilled workers and E is casual workers, pensioners
and others who depend on the state for their income. The six grades are often
simplified into three: AB, C1/C2 and DE.
3 Based on good ethical principles. Solid.
c
Students discuss the concepts in pairs. Encourage them to use some of the
phrases from Exercise 7c in their discussion.
There is no right or wrong answer to this exercise: the aim is to get students to
discuss the three concepts. Note that for question 1, the branding agency has
not included the words, ‘Part of the FjP Group’, which Natasha had requested in
Extract C of her brief.
d Students do the writing at home or in pairs in the classroom. Encourage them to
use the language and techniques from this section.
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
Background information and useful web links
New product development
The stages in the process are explained in Worksheet 6 on page 89. There is a similar
list of stages in the Wikipedia article below, with details of what each stage involves.
The beginning of the NPD process is what is known as the Fuzzy Front End – so called
because it is the stage where definitions and objectives are not yet clear. This is the
stage before a concrete concept is on the table, and it can take as much as 50% of the
time required for NPD. The Fuzzy Front End includes the following:
●●
Opportunity Identification
●●
Opportunity Analysis
●●
Idea Genesis
●●
Idea Selection
●●
Concept and Technology Development.
Useful web links
New product development
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_product_development
The PDMA glossary for new product development
http://www.pdma.org/npd_glossary.cfm
New product development process
http://www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/managing-products/newproduct-development-process/
Idea generation
Techniques for brainstorming:
●●
Define and agree the objective.
●●
Brainstorm ideas and suggestions having agreed a time limit.
●●
Categorise/Condense/Combine/Refine.
●●
Assess/Analyse effects or results.
●●
Prioritise options / Rank list as appropriate.
●●
Agree action and timescale.
●●
Control and monitor follow-up.
The central rule of brainstorming is that all ideas are good ideas and should be
written down. Even if they are rejected later (as most will be), they may lead to new
ideas which will be accepted.
There is a long list of further techniques for generating ideas at Creating Minds (link
below).
Useful web links
Brainstorming technique for problem-solving, team-building and creative process
http://www.businessballs.com/brainstorming.htm
The step-by-step guide to brainstorming
http://www.jpb.com/creative/brainstorming.php
Tools for creating ideas
http://creatingminds.org/tools/tools_ideation.htm
How to use the analogy technique
http://www.brainstorming.co.uk/tutorials/analogytutorial.html
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
Ethical investment funds
Ethical investment is also known as Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). Investment
funds are tools for people to invest their wealth in businesses. Each fund manages
money belonging to a large number of investors. There is a fund manager who
chooses where to invest the fund’s money.
Investors may be worried that the companies in which they invest might, for example,
be exploiting developing countries or damaging the environment, or they may have
concerns about supporting company activities that they don’t approve of. In such
cases, they may choose an ethical investment fund.
Useful web links
A guide to ethical investing
http://www.investmentuk.org/factsheets/EI/default.asp
Q&A: Ethical investment funds
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/feb/11/investmentfunds.moneyinvestments
Rebranding
This may involve major changes to the brand’s logo, brand name, image, marketing
strategy, and advertising themes. These changes are typically aimed at the
repositioning of the brand/company, usually in an attempt to distance itself from
certain negative connotations of the previous branding, or to move the brand
upmarket.
Useful web links
Rebranding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebranding
Case study – examples of rebranding
http://tutor2u.net/business/marketing/casestudy_rebranding.asp
Case study – the rebranding of Skoda
http://tutor2u.net/business/marketing/casestudy_skoda.asp
Concept statement
The concept statement is usually a short paragraph, but can be as short as a single
sentence or even one word (see examples below). It does not form part of the
marketing communication in itself (so potential customers will never read the concept
statement), but it will inform the whole process of NPD and later communication.
The concept statement can be a short, descriptive, easy-to-remember phrase that tries
to capture the intention or purpose of a product or service. It makes clear what sets
the product or service apart from those of competitors. By establishing a common
vision throughout the design process, it serves as an anchor point or common ground
for the design team.
Examples that illustrate the nature and characteristics of concept statements for
websites:
●●
Disney Website: The happiest place on earth (http://disney.go.com)
●●
Apple iMac (new iMac design): sunflower (www.apple.com/imac)
●●
Example travel site: A personal assistant with the spirit of an explorer and the
concern of a mother.
One way of structuring longer concept statements is to include the following:
86
●●
a statement of the problem that the product is meant to solve
●●
a definition of the type of solution that the product requires
●●
supporting attributes (physical and communications) that add credibility to the
product’s ability to solve the problem.
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
Useful web links
Concept statements and website messages
http://www.sapdesignguild.org/community/design/concept_statem.asp
How to write a new product concept statement that works
http://ricardojc.wordpress.com/2009/02/14/how-to-write-a-new-product-conceptstatement-that-works/
Concept statement guidelines
http://fiuchallenge.com/downloads/concept-statement-guide.pdf
Brands
A brand can be defined in many ways, but it may be thought of as a name or a
trademark of a company, product or service. Very often a brand is associated with a
logo, but the brand is much more than that: it includes the whole set of characteristics
that constitute a brand’s image, its personality and its identity.
Brands can be thought of as a guarantee of quality: customers like to know what they
are buying and trust that the company would not risk its hard-earned reputation by
permitting inferior or variable quality.
Although brands are rather intangible, they have very real financial value – often they
are a company’s biggest asset. See Interbrand rankings below.
Useful web links
Brand management
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand_management
Brand
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand
Best global brands
http://www.interbrand.com/best_global_brands.aspx
Interbrand’s method for valuating the best global brands
http://www.interbrand.com/best_global_brands_methodology.aspx?langid=1000
Untangling brand equity, value, assets and health
http://www.brandchannel.com/papers_review.asp?sp_id=1460
Brand identity, brand image, etc.
Brand identity is the total proposition that a company makes to consumers – the
promise it makes. It may consist of features and attributes, benefits, performance,
quality, service support, and the values that the brand possesses. The brand can
be viewed as a product, a personality, a set of values, and a position it occupies in
people’s minds. Brand identity is everything the company wants the brand to be seen
as.
Brand image, on the other hand, is the totality of consumer perceptions about the
brand, or how customers see it, which may not coincide with the brand identity.
Companies have to work hard on the consumer experience to make sure that what
customers see and think is what the companies want them to see and think.
Useful web links
Corporate identity, brand identity, and brand image
http://www.brandingasia.com/columns/temporal10.htm
Defining Corporate Identity, Brand Identity & Brand Image
http://www.web-source.net/internet_marketing/22523.html
Briefs
These are short pieces of communication between different organisations (e.g.
an advertising agency and its client) setting out exactly what one organisation is
proposing or what it expects from the other organisation. A client will prepare a brief
explaining what it wants the agency to do, and then the agency will prepare a creative
brief summarising its ideas and what it proposes to do.
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
Useful web links
Writing creative briefs – what not to do
http://brandmentoring.com/blog/2009/01/29/writing-creative-briefs-what-not-to-do/
How to write a good brief
http://www.thinkingjuice.co.uk/news-how-to-write-a-good-brief-125.html
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UNIT 6 New product development (NPD) and branding Teacher’s Notes
Worksheet 6
Idea generation
Screening new ideas
Concept development
Concept testing
Marketing strategy
Business analysis
Product development
and optimisation
Test marketing
Commercialisation
and launch
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A When the organisation decides to launch the product/
service properly, it must put into place plans for manufacturing
/ delivery and distribution. A promotional campaign will also
be launched to promote the new product/service’s arrival in the
marketplace.
B An organisation has to decide if the new product/service
ideas are feasible – that is, does the organisation have the
time, money and resources to produce them?
C An organisation will analyse how profitable the new product/
service might be (how much it will cost to produce, how much
it will sell for, how much they can expect to sell, their return on
investment, etc.).
D An organisation tries to find out how the new product or
service will perform in the market. One way of doing this is to
release the product or service into a small, controlled market
first. There is then time to make changes to the marketing mix
before the main launch. This is sometimes known as a soft
launch.
E An organisation looks for new ideas for products or services
that will help it achieve its business objectives.
F An organisation tests the new concepts with potential
customers; the objective is to find out what they think and
what changes need to be made to the concept.
G The organisation plans how it will achieve its marketing objectives for the new product/service.
H Initial ideas are made into more concrete concepts.
I An organisation will take the initial concept and turn it into
something more concrete. In the case of manufacturing, this
might be a working model of the product, for example. Optimisation involves carrying out more research on how to
improve the product or service.
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Professional English
Cambridge English for
Marketing
UNIT 7
TEACHER’S NOTES
Product launch and promotion
l
Creating and presenting a marketing message
Presenting the promotional mix
l Communicating effectively to internal stakeholders
l Planning and writing a press release
l
Go to page 101 for essential background information on the topic and
useful web links
Don’t forget to use the Additional activity worksheet at the end of this unit;
notes and answers on page 99
Marketing terms can be found in the Glossary on Student’s Book pages
114–119
Refers to the Audioscript at the back of the Student’s Book
Note
Unit 7 continues the case study of Union Direct bank, started in Units 5 and 6.
In this unit, the marketing team at Union Direct deal with the launch of the new
product that was developed in unit 6.
The message
Before you begin …
If you have internet access in the classroom, watch this clip with the class:
Most Memorable New Product Launch 2009 Top 10 http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=1A87VrpHcBU
Students watch the clip to make notes on the top launches of 2009. These should
provide examples and inspiration for discussions throughout this unit.
Answers
=10 Slim design LED TV; battery-powered mosquito repellent
9 Mobile phone
4 Snuggie
8 Spicy nacho sauce
3 Computer game
7 Burger
2 Range of coffee drinks
6 Sandwich
1 Grilled chicken
5 Blackberry phone
Even if you don’t have internet access, use the list of new products to generate a
discussion.
1 Why are consumers less and less aware of new products that are launched, no
matter how heavily promoted they are?
2 Can anything be done to overcome this problem?
3 Which of these launches would work in your country?
4 What stages are involved in the launch and promotion for one of these products or
services?
5 How early in the process of new product development (NPD) does the launch need
to be planned?
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
1 People may be watching less TV, so may miss mass-marketing campaigns.
Campaigns may be so well targeted that mass markets don’t see them at all.
Consumers may encounter too many launches, and therefore forget most of
them.
4 Answers will vary radically depending on the product, but see the Background
note below for a summary.
5 In a marketing-led company, the launch should be planned (at least
provisionally) right from the beginning of the NPD process.
Note
New product launch summary
1 Ensure the product is market ready and that clear objectives are set.
2 Agree project launch team to include Sponsor, Leader and representatives from
all key disciplines.
3 Develop Launch Strategy.
4 Develop launch critical path and agree reporting procedure.
5 Agree early in-market plan to include key performance indicators (KPIs),
responsibilities, evaluation and reporting procedures.
6 Continue to monitor and assess performance against KPI’s post launch.
Source: http://www.scotlandfoodanddrink.org/Asset.aspx?item_
id=11612&name=How%20do%20I%20develop%20a%20product%20
launch%20strategy.pdf
1 a
Discuss the first question with the whole class. Then students discuss the
remaining questions in pairs and then feed back to the class. Write students’
suggestions for question 4 on the board.
Suggested answers
1 A marketing message explains: what your organisation does; how your
organisation can help people (customers/stakeholders); why people should
trust your organisation; why people should prefer your organisation’s services
or products to your competitors’. A marketing message is not the same as
a slogan. A slogan is a short phrase which presents the main idea of an
organisation or product in a way that is easy to remember. The marketing
message is often used to create a slogan.
2 A marketing message can be aimed at internal or external stakeholders; it
depends on the organisation’s objectives.
3 In a service industry, a company’s products are intangible (cannot be touched
or held). The marketing message is particularly important for a company in a
service industry because it has to help the consumer to understand what the
product is and what the consumer will get for his/her money. The marketing
message can help the organisation’s product seem to be tangible.
Information about Union Direct:
Union Direct is an internet-only bank. It is part of the FjP Group, the thirdlargest banking group in the world. It commissioned some market research to
find out why it was losing customers. The research showed that people didn’t
trust their money with the bank; that it had a bad corporate image; and that
its customers weren’t loyal. The bank decided to make its links with the FjP
Group stronger through rebranding and to develop a range of ethical products
(e.g. credit card discounts, an ethical investment fund) called Union Direct
Ethical, and to change its corporate social responsibility policy.
b Students could look through Units 5 and 6 or the summary on page 107 if they
need reminding about Union Direct, before discussing the questions in pairs and
then feeding back to the class.
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Note that the answers to this exercise will be given in the listening activity in
Exercise 1d.
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
c
Discuss with the class any differences between your students’ questions from
Exercise 1a, question 4, (on the board) and the five questions in Exercise 1b.
d Students listen to check their answers to Exercise 1b.
7.1 pages 93–94
Answers
1/2 People who want their bank to care about the same political and social issues
as they do.
People who don’t trust their bank.
3 Union Direct can offer them an ethically-sound place to invest their money
and a way to support the charities that they care about.
4 A customer who spent £1,000 on his/her credit card would have £10 donated
to charity. A customer who invested with Union Direct Ethical would hopefully
get a good return on investment and be sure that his/her money was being
invested ethically.
5 Union Direct have the best-trained staff and give customers a higher rate of
interest on their current account as a reward.
e Students complete the matching exercise in pairs and then discuss their answers
with the class.
Answers
1 c 2 e 3 b 4 d 5 a
Extension activity: analysing a presentation
Discuss these questions with the class.
1 Natasha said that the message needs to be clear, powerful, consistent and
attention-grabbing. Do you think she has succeeded in those four aims?
2 What technique does Natasha use in the first two sentences of the marketing
message?
3 Why does Natasha give an example?
4 Why did Natasha start the last point with ‘And’?
Suggested answers
1 Yes. The message is clear because she uses signposts (e.g. We help these
people by …). It is powerful because she uses a believable example with
emotions (e.g. uncomfortable, sure), superlatives (e.g. best) and strong verbs
(e.g. donate, reward). It is consistent because the term ethical is repeated and
reinforced. It is attention-grabbing because it starts with a real problem.
2 Repetition (Union Direct ethical is for people who …; It is for people who …).
3 To make the abstract message seem more relevant to real customers.
4 To show that she is offering a further example of how we’re going to be the
best, and that this will be the final example.
f
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Students work in pairs to complete the marketing message and then feed back to
the class.
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1 want
2 don’t have
3 used to
4 to know
5 offering
6 would be
7 would allow
8 could also find out
9 have
10 giving
2 a
Do the first sentence with the class so they know exactly what to do. Then play
the rest of the recording for them to mark the stress on the other words/phrases.
Discuss the answers with the class, including any reasons for stressing particular
words. For example, the words which are stressed are important words which
Natasha wants to convey to her audience. The types of words which are
tressed are key words such as the verbs: grabs, cares and reward; adjectives
to add emphasis: vital, clear, powerful, and best; words used for negatives
and contrast, or surprising information, such as don’t trust, used to, we’d
donate £10.
The aim of this exercise is to remind students that the most important thing for
students to remember when presenting is to make sure they convey all the key
content and surprising or new information to their audience.
7.1 pages 93–94
Answers
So you can see that it’s vital that our marketing message is clear and powerful
and grabs people’s attention. … for people who don’t trust their bank as much
as they used to. It is for people who care about the same things that they do. We
help these people by offering them … we’d donate £10 a month to the charity of
their choice on their behalf. That same customer could also … we’re not the only
bank offering ethical banking services – but we’re going to be the best. We have
the best-trained staff … And we reward people who choose Union Direct Ethical
by ...
b Students go through the second paragraph of the extract in Exercise 1f and
decide which words to stress. They then take turns to say the extract to a
partner. Encourage them to exaggerate the stress. Then play the recording for
students to compare while thay look at Audioscript 7.2, where the stressed
words are underlined. Afterwards, elicit whether the exaggerated stress sounded
odd or whether it added to the effectiveness of the presentations.
7.2 page 94
3 a
Students write a marketing message in groups. Ideally, they should write a
message for a product they know well, but you may use some of the examples
from the video (see Before you begin … above) for inspiration. Make sure they
answer the five questions in Exercise 1b. Encourage them to use the phrases and
structures from Exercise 1e.
b Students plan where to use emphatic stress and then take turns to present their
marketing message to each other. Finally, a representative from each group
should present that group’s message to the class.
c
Students discuss the initial concepts in small groups.
d Students work in pairs to complete the phrases.
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
work
across
seems
emphasis
powerful; danger
double; hand
say
communicates; communicate
e Students work alone to write sentences about the adverts using the phrases.
Point out that the sentences do not need to be especially original.
f
Students take turns to read their sentences to a partner and to discuss each
other’s sentences.
g Students discuss the concepts in small groups, using the sentences they wrote in
Exercise 3e. They should discuss whether the billboards achieve the aims Natasha
presented to the marketing team, and what changes they would make to the
concepts in order for them to convey the marketing message more effectively.
The promotional mix
Before you begin …
Brainstorm onto the board a mind map, using the following ideas to get started.
Press releases
Sales presentations
Personal
selling
Sales force
4 a
94
TV
Radio
Cinema
Public relations
Direct marketing
Sales promotions
Discounts
Product
placement
Free samples
In-store
displays
The promotional
mix
News-papers
Advertising
Magazines
Billboards
Flyers
Trade fairs
Internet
Sponsorship
Brochures
Students match five of the tools to the pictures in pairs and then feed back to the
class.
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1
2
A street marketing
B sales promotion
C sponsorship
D press advertising
E direct mail
If you pay commission to an agency, the advertising is above-the-line (ATL). In
advertising below-the-line (BTL), no commission is paid.
3 ATL: press advertising, TV advertising, outdoor/out-of-home advertising,
online advertising
BTL: personal selling, public relations, sponsorship, street marketing, direct
mail, sales promotions
4 TTL means through-the-line. TTL uses both ATL and BTL channels.
5 Union Direct operates in a B2C market (business to customer). It will
therefore probably take a TTL approach. Organisations that operate in B2B
markets (business to business) tend to prefer BTL channels because they are
not trying to reach a mass audience.
The answer to which tools Union Direct Ethical would use will be given in
Exercise 5b.
b Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Extension activity: promotional tools
Students discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various tools in terms
of e.g. cost, measurability, impact, etc.
5 a
Students listen to decide if the statements are true or false. Discuss the answers
with the class.
7.3 page 94
Answers
1 F – She says that she will talk about the specifics later.
2 T – It is a TTL approach.
3 F – She handles both of the interruptions calmly and professionally.
b Students try to complete the slides without listening and then listen again to
check.
7.3 page 94
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
c
TV advertising
Outdoor/out-of-home advertising
Press advertising
Direct mail
Personal selling
Sponsorship
public relations (PR)
Do this quickly with the class.
Answers
1 c 2 b 3 d 4 a
d Students work in pairs to find more phrases.
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
Answers
a
b
c
d
Coming back to what I was saying ...
Moving on to ...
As you can see ...
Yes, I’ll be coming on to that in just a second.
Extension activity: useful phrases for presentations
In small groups, students brainstorm more phrases for each of the functions.
Collect good examples on the board.
Suggested answers
Returning after a question or interruption
Going back to what I was saying, ...
As I was saying, ...
Moving onto the next slide
As you’ll see on the next slide, ...
Let’s look at the next slide.
Showing information on a slide
As you’ll be able to see, ...
If you just look here, you’ll be able to see ...
Responding to an interruption
I’ll get on to that later.
I won’t go into that now, actually, because …
e Students work in pairs to plan a promotional mix for a product or service. (NB
you could use one of the ideas from the video clip above.) They then plan how to
present their ideas to the class, using the phrases from this section.
Extension activity: mini-presentations
As an optional homework activity, get students to prepare slides for minipresentations of their ideas. They can then perform these in class in the next
lesson.
f
Students take turns to present their promotional mix to the class. The other
students should play the role of the marketing team, and ask questions about
the presentations.
Internal marketing
Before you begin …
In pairs, students discuss the following questions.
1 How would you define the term internal marketing (IM)?
2 What are the benefits to an organisation of good IM?
3 Why is IM particularly important in the service sector?
Write the following words on the board: internal marketing, change, internal
stakeholders, internal communication channels, internal marketing techniques,
buy-in.
Students work in pairs to try to work out the connection between the words, and
to think of examples for some of the categories. They then read the introductory
paragraph on Student’s Book page 59 to compare it with their ideas.
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
1 IM is the process of communicating with internal stakeholders in the same
way as external stakeholders – that is, understanding that satisfying the
needs and wants of internal stakeholders is as important as satisfying the
needs and wants of external stakeholders. In some ways, an organisation’s
employees are seen as customers and their jobs as the product.
2 The main benefit of good IM is higher employee satisfaction. That can lead to
lower turnover (people leaving the organisation to go and work somewhere
else) and improved customer service. It can also make the implementation of
change easier.
3 Because services are intangible, customer service levels are a vital element of
an organisation’s offer. Good customer service can help organisations in the
service sector to differentiate themselves from their competitors; the quality
of an organisation’s workforce can therefore give it a competitive advantage.
If employee satisfaction is high because of the successful application of IM
techniques, then customer service levels may rise and customer satisfaction
will increase.
Change: new product/service, rebranding, relocation, new corporate structure
Internal stakeholders: employees, shareholders, managers
Internal communication channels: email, newsletters, meetings, intranet, posters
Internal marketing techniques: free samples, discounts, away-days, reward
schemes
6 a
Students work in pairs to complete the matching exercise.
Answers
2 d 3 e 4 b 5 a 6 f 7 h 8 i 9 g 10 j
Afterwards elicit from the class how each of the channels or techniques can
encourage buy-in.
Suggested answers
Online forums: Staff can express their opinions and feel like part of the decisionmaking process.
Loyalty programmes: Staff receive financial or other incentives to buy/use the
company’s products/services regularly.
Written manifestos: If such manifestos are prominently displayed, employees
understand what the company is doing and why.
Away-days: Create team spirit and a sense that the company has a human side.
Childcare facilities: The company shows that it cares about its employees, in the
hope that employees will care about the company.
Training sessions: Direct impact: communication about change, new message, etc.
Indirect impact: staff feel valued, that they are making progress in their careers.
Overseas conferences: Motivating, good for team spirit, educational.
Plasma screens: Contain images and messages to communicate with internal
customers.
Mission statements: Employees need to know why the company exists and why it
does what it does.
Staff discounts: Staff encouraged to use company products/services. Also creates
positive feelings towards the company.
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
b Students work in pairs to complete the table.
Answers
Internal communication channels
Electronic: online forums
Print: written manifestos; mission statements
Face-to-face: training sessions
Workplace (environment): plasma screens
Internal marketing techniques
Incentive schemes: loyalty programmes; staff discounts
Events: away-days; overseas conferences
Facilities: childcare facilities
c
Students discuss the question in small groups. You could turn this discussion
into a role play, where students play the role of managers planning how to
communicate the message.
d Students read the email to identify the channels and techniques.
Answers
Channels: email, training sessions, intranet, online forum, written manifesto
Techniques: incentive schemes (staff discounts, competitions)
e Students discuss the questions in pairs. Make sure they justify their answers to
question 1 with examples from the email. Note that the email is not intended to
be especially persuasive in its current form (i.e. with gaps). The gapped phrases
are intended to make it much more persuasive.
Answers
1 All of the adjectives could be used to describe the email.
Clear means easy to understand; concise means not containing unnecessary
words or information; inclusive means written to all relevant groups;
informative means giving a lot of useful information; relevant means
containing the correct information for its purpose; persuasive means making
you want to do or believe something
f
Students work in pairs to complete the exercise.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
we are delighted to announce that
don’t forget that
hundreds of
Simply click here to
fantastic
You’ll be pleased to hear that
truly
Remember that
g Students discuss the question in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answer
They make the email more persuasive – that is, they make the reader more
motivated to act.
h Students discuss the questions in small groups.
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
Language note
Question 3 uses a third conditional (If you had been in charge … what would
you have done …?). Make sure students understand this refers to the unreal
past. You may decide to encourage students to use similar grammar in their
discussions, if they have already studied this language.
Additional activity
If students are unlikely to have experience of internal marketing, you could
use Worksheet 7 at the end of this unit to generate a discussion.
Answers
1
i
1
2
3
4
5
6
start
first
on
back
like
for
7
8
9
10
11
12
care
idea
great
problem
work
keen
The writing can be done at home or in class (in small groups). Encourage students
to use the language and techniques from the model email in Exercise 6d.
A press release
Before you begin …
Print some examples of press releases from the Internet. You could search
Google News (http://news.google.co.uk/) for ‘press release’ in order to get topical
news stories. In groups, students decide what product/service each press release
is promoting, how effective it is, and what techniques it uses to make the story
appeal to journalists and readers.
7 a
Students read the press release to answer the questions in pairs and then feed
back to the class.
Answers
1 The objective is to announce the launch of a new range of ethical banking
products.
2 It is not clear who the press release has been written for. However, it will
probably be sent to the national press and the specialist financial/business
press.
3 Yes. It contains information about the launch of a new product/service which
represents a change from the bank’s normal business; and a suggestion that
the bank is going to change the way it does business in the future.
b Students discuss the advice in pairs. Make sure students justify their answers
with examples. Then discuss the questions with the class.
Answers
1 Yes. The angle is that Union Direct are refocusing their offer to a brand new
market segment: the ethical consumer. It is worth reporting because it shows
how important the market for ethical products has become.
2 Yes. The headline is short (less than ten words) and makes the reader want to
continue reading to find out the how, when and why.
3 Yes. Union Direct refers to itself in the third person.
4 Yes. It says that the market for ethical products in the UK is worth over £30
billion.
5 Yes. It uses quotes from Union Direct’s Sales and Marketing Director.
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
c
Students analyse the press release in pairs and then feed back to the class. Point
out that the rules are intended as good guidelines – of course real-life press
releases use a range of similar techniques.
Answers
1
2
3
4
the company and the product; present tenses
the features and benefits; future tenses
direct speech
present tenses
Extension activity: analysing press releases
Repeat the exercise using authentic press releases (see Before you begin …
above).
d Students work in small groups to write a press release using one of the three
scenarios. They could also choose one of the new products from the video clip at
the beginning of this unit.
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
Background information and useful web links
New product launch
A product launch is an integral part of new product development (NPD). It is one of
the most important parts of marketing: a successful launch can make all the difference
between a product or service that sells and one that fails.
Useful web links
New product development
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Product_Development
The PDMA (Product Development & Management Association) glossary for new
product development
http://www.pdma.org/npd_glossary.cfm
Product launch checklist
http://www.npd-solutions.com/launch.html
How to launch a new product
http://www.dbmarketing.com/articles/Art122.htm
Marketing message
This is intended to communicate with the target market. It is much fuller than a
slogan. The marketing message has a very specific function:
●●
it must grab the attention of the target buyer
●●
it must explain how your product or service can solve that person’s problem
●●
it must build trust
●●
it must explain why the buyer should choose your product/service over that of a
competitor.
The five questions in Exercise 1b are explained and developed in the first web article
below.
Useful web links
The five-step formula for creating your marketing message
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol129/marketing.htm
Your marketing message on pretzels?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpJ5p4QAvfU
Effective marketing tips – three steps to create a marketing message that stands out
from the crowd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YLx3HWndeU
The promotional mix
It is often said that there are four key elements to the promotional mix: advertising,
personal selling (i.e. using a sales force), sales promotions (e.g. special offers) and
promotion (i.e. public relations, PR). This list may be extended to include direct
marketing (e.g. telephone selling, email marketing) and sponsorship.
Useful web links
Promotion – introduction to the promotional mix
http://tutor2u.net/business/marketing/promotion_mix.asp
Promotional mix
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promotional_mix
Promotional mix in detail
http://learnmarketing.net/promotionexpanded.htm
Above-the-line (ATL), below-the-line (BTL), through-the-line (TTL)
ATL advertising involves mass media such as TV, radio, newspapers, etc. BTL involves
less conventional methods such as direct mail, PR and sales promotions. For some
marketers, ATL refers to Awareness or Attention focused marketing and BTL refers to
Interest + Desire focused marketing. Advertsing agencies often specialise in either
ATL or BTL advertising (or they do both, in which case they call themselves TTL
agencies).
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
Useful web links
Below the line
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Below_the_line_(advertising)
What’s the difference between above, below and through the line?
http://www.ad-mad.co.uk/node/21
Internal marketing
This involves selling an idea (e.g. a new product, a new method, a new style of
working) to individuals within your own organisation. An important concept is buyin: if employees buy into the idea, they believe in its value and will work to support
it. Without buy-in, employees may resist change, or they may fail to understand its
importance.
Internal marketing is most obviously important with sales people and customerservice staff, who need to understand and communicate the marketing message on
behalf of the company. Less obviously, staff away from the front line also need to buy
into the new way of thinking or acting. To take the example of the ethical banking
product in this unit, the whole organisation needs to see ethical behaviour as central
to its work. If, for example, an office manager treats the office cleaners disrespectfully,
or an IT manager fails to pay a supplier on time, it sends a signal to the public and to
other employees that ethical is just a marketing gimmick.
Internal marketing is also important for staff motivation, commitment and
productivity: if employees believe their work is aligned to their own values, they will
enjoy it more and try harder.
Useful web links
Internal marketing lesson
http://www.marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_internal_marketing.htm
How to influence employee behaviour through internal marketing
http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2003/04/08/18252/how-to.influenceemployee-behaviour-through-internal.html
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
This is a form of self-regulation, where a company recognises its responsibility for
the impact of its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities,
stakeholders, etc. Corporations may benefit in multiple ways by operating with a
perspective broader and longer than their own immediate, short-term profits. Some
cynics may see it as merely another form of advertising/PR: creating a positive
impression because it is good for business. For this reason, it is important that CSR is
part of a company’s mission/vision statement, rather than simply a marketing gimmick
that can be abandoned when financial circumstances change.
Useful web links
Corporate social responsibility
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility
Corporate social responsibility
http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/index.php
Press releases
These are a crucial part of PR, which in turn is a key part of marketing. The main
advantage of press releases over other forms of advertising is that they generate
free publicity: the newspaper or magazine may be happy to run a story about a new
product or service simply because it is interesting. Journalists are often happy when
someone else does their work for them and provides them with a ready-made story.
The downside of press releases is that the company has little control over the final
content of news stories.
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
Useful web links
Tips, guidelines and templates for writing an effective press release
http://www.prwebdirect.com/pressreleasetips.php
Some examples of how to write a press release
http://www.freelancewritingtips.com/2008/02/some-examples-o.html
News release
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_release
Free press releases
http://www.freepressreleases.co.uk/
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UNIT 7 Product launch and promotion Teacher’s Notes
Worksheet 7
You are managers at the headquarters of chain of restaurants. You are in the process
of rebranding your chain as family-friendly restaurants. You already have new
menus and a media marketing campaign, but you also want to get buy-in from your
employees.
1 Before your meeting, look at the useful language. For each phrase, choose one
word from the box to put in the gap.
back care first for great idea keen like on problem start work
Useful language
Managing the meeting
1 OK, so let’s make a
.
2 The
item on the agenda is …
3 I think we need to move
.
4 Let’s make a note of that and come
Assigning roles
5 I’ll do that, if you
6 Could you be responsible
7 Would you mind taking
Responding positively
8 That’s a really good
9 That would be
to it later.
.
that, please?
of that one?
.
.
Responding negatively
10
. Yes, but the
is …
1
1
. I don’t think that would
12
. I'm not
on that idea.
2 Discuss the ideas on the agenda below and choose the best ones. Make sure you
consider the costs as well as benefits of each idea.
Agenda
1. Aims for IM
– Target market: who do we want to persuade?
2. Suggestions for IM
– Internal marketing techniques
– Front-line staff training: how to deal with children?
– Away-days: zoo? schools? children’s adventure playgrounds?
– Staff discounts (e.g. for swimming pools, kids’ clothes, books, etc.)
– Childcare facilities for employees
– Family days for employees?
– Staff party – with kids?
– Days off for employees to spend with their families?
– Bring-family-to-work days?
3. Communication channels
– New mission statement on display at headquarters? In all offices? In all
restaurants?
– Monthly email/newsletter to all staff
– Plasma screens?
4. Plan of action
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Professional English
Cambridge English for
Marketing
UNIT 8
Digital marketing
TEACHER’S NOTES
l
Talking about results
Making your point persuasively
l Discussing digital marketing objectives and tools
l Writing good web copy
l
Go to page 116 for essential background information on the topic and
useful web links
Don’t forget to use the Additional activity worksheet at the end of this unit;
notes and answers on page 115
Marketing terms can be found in the Glossary on Student’s Book pages
114–119
Refers to the Audioscript at the back of the Student’s Book
A failing strategy?
Before you begin …
Write on the board Digital marketing – tools and techniques. Brainstorm a list of
tools and techniques from the class. Avoid explaining too many of the terms that
will come up in this unit – the aim is to get ideas from the class, rather than pass
on new information.
You could also elicit what students think will happen with digital marketing in the
near future: what are the current trends?
Suggested answers
Tools: email, SMS, website, blogs, banner ads, pop-up ads, social networking
sites.
Techniques: online sales, search engine optimisation, web analytics, viral
marketing, permission marketing, user-generated content, paid search listings.
1 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
2 A guidebook publisher
b Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class. Put the
best ideas from the SWOT analysis onto the board.
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1 Learn about the company; buy guidebooks through the website; find out
which shops sell the guidebooks; search the site; find out about current and
future titles; contact the company; read about destinations.
Suggested answers
2 Product/Service mix: Friendly World publish and sell guidebooks to a large
number of cities. Their homepage doesn’t suggest that they offer any other
products or services.
Customers: Their customers are probably people travelling to a country that
Friendly World publish a guide to, who want/need to find out more about
how to spend their time in that country. It’s not obvious what their customer
demographic (age, gender, etc.) is.
Positioning: Friendly World want to be seen as an approachable,
inclusive, dependable and expert brand. Their name and slogan suggests
approachability and inclusiveness, while the focus on the company’s
long history and the up-to-date information contained in its guidebooks
emphasises dependability and expertise. The homepage also makes a direct
appeal to potential customers’ hopes and dreams, promising that it will help
them turn a normal holiday into a special trip. In terms of their competitors,
Friendly World seem to be positioning themselves as the most experienced
guidebook publisher in the market.
Value proposition: The homepage suggests that when a customer buys a
guidebook from Friendly World, they will have access to the most up-to-date
travel information possible for a certain city – information that comes from
the publisher’s 30 years of experience in the travel guide business; this is
Friendly World’s USP. The homepage also suggests that the information in the
guidebooks will somehow help travellers to have a much better holiday (‘turn
a holiday into the trip of a lifetime’); this is what they offer the customer in
return for their money.
3 Strengths: 30 years of experience; established, well-known brand; publish
guides to a large number of countries; simple online distribution method
through website ordering; (probably) extensive distribution through stockists
(bookshops, etc.).
Weaknesses: Limited product range (i.e. only guidebooks); main product
is potentially out-of-date (are people still using printed guidebooks?); the
company’s website has very little functionality and content (it is basically just
an online catalogue).
Opportunities: Use advances in web technology to find out more about what
customers want and need; use new digital marketing techniques to increase
awareness of what the company offers.
Threats: Existing competition from both on- and offline guidebook publishers;
new entrants (barriers to entry are probably quite low); substitute products
(customers have a lot of choice); printed guidebooks becoming less popular,
free online resources becoming more popular.
2 a
Students listen to the first part of the meeting to answer the questions.
8.1 page 94
Answers
1 a
iam is a Publishing Manager. He would be responsible for the company’s
L
publishing strategy – that is, he would decide what guidebooks they
publish and what kind of information the books contain.
b Marijana is a Web Marketing Executive. She would be responsible for
implementing an organisation’s web marketing strategy.
2 He wants to get input from him on how the digital marketing strategy might
affect the publishing strategy, and vice versa.
3 a
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
b Students work in pairs to match the terms to the definitions.
Answers
2 c 3 d 4 j 5 g 6 a 7 f 8 b 9 h 10 e
Extension activity: digital marketing vocabulary
Students test each other in pairs by reading gone of the definitions to elicit
the correct term from their partner. They could also choose two terms to ask
their partner to explain the differences (e.g. What’s the difference between
‘site traffic’ and ‘click-through rate’?).
c
Students discuss the statements in pairs and then listen again to check.
8.1 page 94
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
site traffic
site traffic
the click-through rate from our email campaigns
conversion rates
paid search listings/campaign
SEO
online sales
d Students change the expressions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
We’ve seen a dramatic rise/increase in
It’s up over 50%
has been rising steadily
were significant
they were generating
But this has translated into
They’re up significantly
Extension activity: describing trends
Brainstorm onto the board adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs and prepositions
to describe trends.
Adjectives
Nouns
Verbs
Adverbs
Prepositions
steady
dramatic
sudden
steep
slight
gradual
a rise
an increase
a fall
a decrease
a dip
a peak
to rise
to increase
to fall
to decrease
to jump
to be up/down
steadily
dramatically
suddenly
steeply
slightly
gradually
It’s up from X to Y.
It’s up by X%.
It’s under/over X%.
e Students discuss the questions in pairs. Make sure they know to use the
expressions from Exercises 2c and 2d.
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
Extension activity: digital marketing techniques in practice
If the students have no experience of these techniques, before the discussion
you could brainstorm examples of a company that relies heavily on digital
marketing (e.g. a maker of digital cameras, a newspaper website, etc.). Go
through the ten terms from Exercise 2b to elicit some trends from the class,
using vocabulary from Exercise 2c and 2d. Then students repeat the exercise
in pairs with a different company or website.
f
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
1 Friendly World’s digital marketing objectives are not immediately clear. Their
main objective seems to be to sell books to customers directly through the
Web, using their website as an online catalogue and distribution channel; they
want to attract visitors to the website in the hope that they will learn more
about the company’s products and buy something directly through the site.
2 It’s not immediately clear what their digital marketing strategy is. At the
moment, their tactics simply involve using search engine marketing and email
campaigns to encourage people to visit the website. Once there, it is hoped
that people will buy.
3 See Exercise 3b.
3 a
Students discuss the question in pairs and then feed back to the class. Don’t give
the answer at this point as the answer is given in Exercise 3b.
b Students listen to check.
8.2 pages 94–95
Answers
The company has been suffering from marketing myopia – that is, it hasn’t been
monitoring its market very well and has therefore missed some opportunities. The
travel market has changed rapidly (customers are changing, they read reviews
from other travellers; there is new competition; anyone can publish their views
online). Because Friendly World hasn’t adapted, it is now suffering a loss in sales.
c
Students discuss the statements in pairs and then listen again to check.
8.2 pages 94–95
Answers
1 a 2 b 3 b 4 b 5 b
d Students discuss the questions in groups and then feed back to the class. Before
you begin, make sure students know what a PEST analysis is – remind them
that it was covered in Unit 2, where it was called a PESTEL analysis, including in
addition Environmental and Legal factors.
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
1 People aren’t using guidebooks in the way they used to; that is, they’re finding
other ways to research their holidays: user-generated content (customer
review sites, blogs, etc.).
2 See Exercises 4b and 4c.
3 As Liam is responsible for the company’s guidebook publishing, he may be
worried about external factors which suggest that the company’s strategy is
out-of-date or unsuccessful. He may also be concerned that the quality of the
product is being questioned.
4 Political factors: Political unrest / war in countries/regions which are popular
with tourists may affect sales of books about that country/region. Fear of
global terrorism may stop some people travelling.
Economic factors: Another global economic crisis will probably have a
negative impact on the travel industry; with less money to spend and fears of
unemployment, many people may choose not to travel abroad.
Sociological factors: Most key sociological factors show that the company
should be doing well in this market environment: couples in English-speaking
countries are generally choosing to have children later in life, meaning
they have more time and money to travel when they are younger; travel
has become an affordable and desirable leisure activity. However, as more
consumers become aware of environmental (‘green’) issues, the popularity of
air travel may fall, meaning people are less likely to travel abroad.
Technological factors: The increase in popularity of user-generated web
content, which is creating new competitors to the company’s core business (its
main or principal business activities).
e Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class. You could
play the recording again and discuss with the class what techniques the people
used to convey their attitudes.
Answers
1 a 2 b 3 b
Note
This exercise is intended to emphasise the importance of tone of voice in
communicating attitude. Students need to understand the effect of their own tone
of voice and also be able to read another person’s attitude from their tone of voice.
Tone needs to be practised carefully, to avoid sounding too aggressive/bored/
direct, etc.
f
Students work in pairs to complete the exercise and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
What I mean is that
I think it’s clear
what I’m trying to say is that
No one’s suggesting that
All I’m saying is
I think what Ali means is
Extension activity: using tone of voice to convey attitude
Students work in pairs to read each sentence in Exercise 3f with at least
two different tones of voice (e.g. rude/aggressive/supportive/patient). Their
partners have to guess what attitude they were trying to convey.
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
g Students role play the meeting in groups of three, paying particular attention
to their tone of voice – they should play the roles with the same attitudes as in
the original recording. The first time they role play the meeting, they may use
Audioscript 8.2 on pages 94–95. Then they role play the meeting again, so that
the student who played Liam has a chance to sound supportive and patient, this
time without the script.
h Students write the email alone as homework or in pairs in class.
New objectives
Before you begin …
The following text provides a simple step-by-step guide to developing a digital
strategy: 8 Steps to developing a digital strategy for your business (http://www.
diginomarketing.com/news/8-steps-to-developing-a-digital-strategy-for-your-business.
html#visuallyappealing). You could elicit from the class what the eight steps might
be and write these up on the board. Print enough copies of the article so there is
one per group of three or four, and cut them to separate the headings from the
paragraphs. You could also cut off the numbers of the steps. Students work in
their groups to match the headings with the paragraphs and then put the steps
into the most logical order. The first team to finish is the winner. At the end, give
each student a link to the original article (or a printed copy) for their reference,
and discuss similarities and differences with the list of steps on the board.
4 a
Students work alone to make a list of marketing objectives and then discuss their
ideas in small groups. Write up the best ideas on the board.
b Students listen to identify which of the ideas on the board were mentioned.
8.3 page 95
Answers
See Exercise 4c.
c
Students discuss in pairs which verbs complete the collocations and then listen
again to check. Afterwards elicit which other verbs could be used.
8.3 page 95
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
change
increase
improve
grow
generate
(The above represents how the collocations are used in the meeting. However,
it is also possible to say, amongst others, increase online sales, increase
advertising revenue, grow advertising revenue, generate site traffic and
generate online sales.)
d Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class. Make
sure students remember what SMART means.
Answers
1 to change people’s perception (i.e. the company’s value proposition)
2 Suggested answer
The objectives are all quite specific. However, objective 1 is not measurable
and none of the objectives are timebound. Without knowing more about
Friendly World’s internal resources, it is impossible to know if these objectives
are achievable or realistic.
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
You could ask the following questions.
1 Which of these adjectives would you use to describe the atmosphere at the
meeting and the participants’ attitudes towards each other? aggressive;
bitter; calm; collaborative; confrontational; defensive; focused; heated; hostile;
productive; warm.
2 What techniques did the speakers use to avoid making the meeting too
confrontational?
3 Would you use the same techniques in your culture?
Suggested answers
1 collaborative; focused; heated; productive
2 They disagreed with each other politely. They disagreed with the ideas, not
the people.
e Students work in pairs to complete the phrases. Allow them to check Audioscript
8.3 if necessary.
8.3 page 95
Answers
Making suggestions
I think the first thing we need to do is ...
I think our first priority should be ...
If I can just add one more thing here: ...
Inviting suggestions
Who’d like to start?
Would you agree, Marijana?
Agreeing
Yes, I absolutely agree.
Yes, I think you’re right.
Yes, that’s a good point.
Politely disagreeing
I’m not so sure, Marijana.
Well, not necessarily.
You’re right, Liam, but ...
f
Students work in groups to role play the meeting. Encourage students to use the
expressions from Exercise 4e.
New tools and techniques
Before you begin …
Elicit from the class what they understand by the terms Web 1.0 and Web 2.0,
with examples of websites from the two eras. Students then watch this clip,
Explaining Web 2.0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BAXvFdMBWw&feature=
fvw), to answer the following questions. You may choose to stop the video at the
points marked [break] for students to discuss their answers and feed back to the
class before moving on.
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
1 What three types of online connection does Web 2.0 allow?
2 What are the three key aspects of Web 2.0?
[break]
3 What four types of service does the speaker use to illustrate interpersonal
computing?
4 What term does the speaker use to refer to an integrated online offering?
5 What three examples does the speaker give of web services that are ‘mashed
together’?
6 What does SaaS stand for?
7 What examples does the speaker give of SaaS?
[break]
8 According to the speaker, why have some companies failed to take Web 2.0
seriously?
9 How will Web 2.0 impact on key industry players like Microsoft?
10 How does the new business model work?
11 What, according to the speaker, was a common Web 1.0 strategy?
12 What strategy do companies now need to adopt?
Answers
1 Between two or more people; between two or more online services; and
between individual users and software applications.
2 Interpersonal computing; web services; and software as a service.
3 Social networking (e.g. Facebook, MySpace), wikis (e.g. Wikipedia), blogs (e.g.
Blogger) and online video (e.g. Kaltura, YouTube).
4 Mash-up.
5 Online payment systems (e.g. WorldPay, PayPal); maps and related data (e.g.
Microsoft Virtual Earth); video hosting (e.g. YouTube embedding).
6 Software as a Service.
7 Human resources and project management applications such as Employease
and Clarizen; Google docs; Zoho; Jooce.
8 They believe it is mostly marketing hype or teenage social networking.
9 They will struggle as many of their core products will have to compete with
free online products.
10 Basic applications and services are provided for free, but a small minority of
users pay for service support, customisation or association.
11 Build a great website and hope people will visit.
12 They need to inhabit websites where users are known to be (such as
Facebook, MySpace and YouTube).
5 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
1 Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 are both used to describe the World Wide Web. Web
1.0 generally refers to the time before Web 2.0, so it is easier to begin with
a definition of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is often called the ‘Second generation’ of
the Web and refers to a change in how we see the Web: the Web was seen as
a place that gives you information (Web 1.0) and is now seen as a place that
you participate in (Web 2.0).
2 Web 2.0 offers marketers the chance to connect with customers in a more
direct and personalised way; it also allows marketers to react quickly to new
trends or important events; and many Web 2.0 features also allow companies
to easily learn more about their potential customers.
b Students read the newsletter to insert the Web 2.0 features.
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Blogs
Tagging
Citizen media
RSS feeds (stands for Really Simple Syndication)
Wikis
Social networking
Podcasts
User-generated content (sometimes called UGC; also called consumergenerated media [CGM] or user-created content [UCC])
9 Viral marketing
c
Students discuss the questions in groups and then feed back to the class.
Extension activity: useful vocabulary
Use some or all of these questions as a class discussion to draw attention to
some useful vocabulary (in bold) from the newsletter.
1 Do you agree that Web 2.0 is here to stay?
2 Do you know of any websites that are making the most of the features of Web
2.0?
3 Apart from online, how can companies interact with customers?
4 Think of some examples of searchable websites.
5 Think of some well-known websites. What content keywords might they use?
6 Do you know any websites that use RSS feeds to their best advantage?
7 What sort of content might draw people to a website?
8 Think of some well-known websites. How can users get involved?
9 Do you know any companies that have built awareness through social
networking sites?
10 In this age of Web 2.0, do companies still need to pay for airtime on the radio
and TV?
11 Do you agree that user-generated media is easily measurable?
12 Why is word of mouth such a powerful thing?
6 a
Students listen to identify the Web 2.0 features that are mentioned.
8.4 pages 95–96
Answers
Blogs; User-generated content (in this case, the forum); Tagging; RSS feeds;
Social networking; Podcast
b Students discuss the questions in pairs and then listen again to check.
8.4 pages 95–96
Answers
1 Blogs
2 Blogs (specifically, giving the bloggers advice on using keywords and phrases
in their blogs [SEO])
3 The forum / user-generated content
4 The forum / user-generated content
5 The forum / user-generated content
6 PDF updates; podcasts
7 RSS feeds
8 Social networking sites, for example Facebook
c
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
Answers
Making suggestions
What about (a) ... ?
Why not (have) ... ?
It’d be a good way to ...
We could ...
I’d like to suggest that ...
Or, even better, we could ...
Inviting suggestions
What else?
Any other ideas?
Does anyone have anything else to add?
Agreeing
That’s a really interesting idea.
Sounds good.
Yes, that could work.
Yes, that’s a much better idea!
Politely disagreeing
Won’t that ... ?
d Students role play the meeting in small groups. Encourage them to use phrases
from this unit.
Effective writing for the Web
Before you begin ...
Print examples of websites which aim to sell a product or service, ideally
connected with your students’ own work or their interests. Distribute the
printouts to students. Students work in pairs to discuss (a) whether the language
is persuasive or not and (b) what language techniques are used (or not used) well
to achieve the desired effect. They then present their ideas to the class.
7 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class. Write
their Dos and Don’ts up on the board.
b Students read the advice to decide whether they agree or disagree with
everything. They then discuss in pairs what they remember about the advice.
What was the most useful and least useful piece of advice? How does the advice
compare with their lists on the board?
Extension activity: effective writing for the Web in practice
Students look back at the examples of websites from the Before you begin …
activity to decide whether they employed any of the techniques from the
articles.
c
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
Marijana has followed most of the advice for writing good web copy, except for
the use of bullet points and bolding to emphasise what she is saying. She has
also used several words with more than two syllables.
d Students discuss the question in pairs and then feed back to the class.
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
city break (a short holiday when you visit a city); San Francisco; Golden Gate
Bridge; Fisherman’s Wharf; Chinatown; Californian cuisine; Californian wines;
cheap accommodation; best hotels; cheapest hotels; Northern California; San
Francisco Film Festival; free tickets; Moscow; Red Square
e This will work best as a classroom activity, with students working in pairs. It
is a good idea for students to swap their writing with another pair to suggest
improvements.
Additional activity
Worksheet 8 at the end of this unit offers a chance to analyse three examples
of very bad web copy and to improve them using the techniques from this
unit. Students work in pairs to identify the problems and to rewrite the
extracts. Note that extract 3 deliberately uses some unusual vocabulary,
which students do not need to learn: if students don’t understand it, neither
will customers, so it needs to be simplified.
Suggested answers
All three extracts: long paragraph, no headings, no emphasis, no bullet points.
Extract 1: It is difficult to identify what the paragraph is about – the first
sentence doesn’t tell us.
Suggested improvement:
●● Do you still write your own copy? Are you wondering why customers aren’t
visiting your site?
●● Times have changed. Copywriting is a serious business that can make all the
difference between failure and success. Businesses like yours need expert
support.
●● We are experts in writing web copy, with over 15 years of experience helping
businesspeople like you to fulfil their potential. Click here to arrange a free
consultation with one of our experts.
Extract 2: The writers have forgotten the target audience. Companies often
mistakenly use their ‘our people’ sites for private jokes. The information may be
too detailed (e.g. listing a person’s complete fields of expertise) or too personal.
It is vital to remember that this page is a marketing tool, and should support the
company’s marketing objectives.
Suggested improvement:
Our people: Brian King, Sales Manager (Europe). Brian knows our customers
better than anybody, and is constantly trying to find ways to improve our offer to
you. He says, ’I’m proud to be in charge of a great team of young, dynamic sales
professionals. They really understand the importance of listening to customers
… and not just selling.’
Extract 3: It is not positive enough. The vocabulary should be simpler. The first
sentence should be more powerful.
Suggested improvement:
Come and stay at Happy Landings, the perfect place for a weekend break by the
sea. Happy Landings is a family-run hotel in the pretty seaside town of Portrush.
●● Wonderful sea views from most rooms, including a spectacular panoramic
view from the restaurant
●● Large rooms – ideal for families
●● Beautiful house and gardens
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
Background information and useful web links
Digital marketing
This can be divided into two categories: push (where the marketers send content to
potential customers, typically via email, SMS or RSS) and pull (where the potential
customer is attracted to the marketer’s content (e.g. website, blog), typically because
it offers a quick and easy way to buy the product, it has attractive content or there is
some sort of promotion (e.g. a competition). Online adverts such as banner ads and
pop-ups are commonly used to pull customers to websites.
Digital marketing is becoming so central to marketing that it is difficult to justify
classifying it as something different – it is simply marketing. At the time of writing,
digital marketing is expected to become more personalised, more social, more
interactive and more mobile.
Useful web links
Digital marketing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_marketing
Looking into the future of digital marketing
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007149
What is Digital Marketing?
http://www.mobilestorm.com/resources/digital-marketing-blog/what-is-digitalmarketing
Eight steps to developing a digital strategy for your business
http://www.diginomarketing.com/news/8-steps-to-developing-a-digital-strategy-foryour-business.html#visuallyappealing
Search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine marketing
(SEM)
SEO involves adapting the content of a website to generate better results (e.g. more
hits, more sales, more unique visitors, more target customers from a particular
market). It contrasts with SEM, which involves paying a search engine in order to
get a higher position in rankings. It involves careful use of key words (i.e. those that
potential customers might search for) and removing technological barriers that might
prevent search engines from accessing the site.
There is a constant battle between some marketers and search engines: the marketers
want quick and easy ways to reach the top of rankings; the search engines want to
produce search results that users find useful. Search engines may block websites
that use extreme forms of SEO such as spamdexing, link farms, keyword stuffing and
article spinning.
An important part of SEM is paid placement, also known as Pay Per Click (PPC).
Advertisers bid in an auction for certain keywords (e.g. digital cameras). The company
that bids highest has its link or advert at the top of the sponsored search result
listings. The companies then pay the host (e.g. a search engine) the amount agreed
on every time someone clicks on the link. The amount they pay is the Cost Per Click
(CPC). A company can decide to stop paying for PPC advertising, but it cannot
physically cancel its listing. Companies only pay what they have budgeted and cannot
be charged more. A key selling point of search is that it can be used quite reactively
and within the budgets of any company.
Useful web links
Search engine optimisation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization
Search engine marketing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_marketing
Google’s search engine optimisation starter guide
http://www.google.com/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
Web 1.0 and 2.0
These terms are pronounced Web one point zero / two point zero, or simply Web one
and Web two.
Web 1.0 was the dominant model for the first decade of the Internet, and involved
companies providing a website that members of the public visited. Web 2.0 evolved
out of the interactive features that some Web 1.0 websites included, such as
discussion forums. Web 2.0 is much more of an interactive experience, with much
more user-generated content.
The three main parts of Web 2.0 are interpersonal computing (e.g. social networking),
Web services (e.g. mash-ups, where a site such as Google Maps or PayPal provides a
service for another site), and software as a service (SaaS, where users can use online
software applications, usually free of charge, instead of downloading and installing
software such as Microsoft Office on their own computer).
Useful web links
Explaining Web 2.0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BAXvFdMBWw&feature=fvw
Evolution Web 1.0, Web 2.0 to Web 3.0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsNcjya56v8
Writing web copy
There is a perceived distinction between writing web content, which is the editorial
work involved in writing articles, news stories, etc., and writing Web copy, which is
a form of marketing. Content writers are experts and employees; copywriters are
marketers. However, it is increasingly recognised that all Web content is a crucial part
of marketing, and needs to be treated as copy.
Useful web links
Web copywriting tips, and advice on web page optimisation
http://www.excessvoice.com/web-copywriting-tips.htm
Top 10 tips for writing good web copy
http://www.webteam.bham.ac.uk/content/tips.shtml
Example of bad web copy
http://www.badlanguage.net/seven-types-of-bad-writing
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UNIT 8 Digital marketing Teacher’s Notes
Worksheet 8
Look at these extracts from websites. What is wrong with them? Use the list of
tips in Exercise 7b to identify problems. Then rewrite the extracts so that they
are more effective.
1
15 years’ Experience
Many people think they know about marketing,
but most of them aren’t experts. They think
they can just put information about their
company up on the Web and wait for customers
to start visiting and spending money.
Unfortunately, times have changed and that’s
no longer a sensible way of going about things.
Our customers come to us because we’ve
got over 15 years’ experience as marketing
consultants. We provide expert advice on
creating effective web copy to really bring your
website to life.
2
Our people
Brian King, Sales Manager, Europe.
Brian is our king of sales – he can sell
anything to anyone. He studied psychology
at the University of South Wales and has
worked for us for over 2½ years. He works
hard and plays hard. His skills on the cricket
field are matched by his natural gift for
selling.
3
Happy Landings
Welcome to our website. Happy Landings is
a small, family-run hotel in the quaint seaside
town of Portrush. We’re not very far from
the sea, and you can see it from some of our
rooms, which is really nice on a clear day.
Our hotel’s spacious interiors complement its
picturesque exterior. We hope you’ll enjoy
your stay – if you decide to book a room.
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Professional English
Cambridge English for
Marketing
UNIT 9
TEACHER’S NOTES
Agencies and suppliers
l
Responding to a request for information from a potential client
Pitching informally to a potential client
l Choosing a supplier based on selection criteria
l Evaluating good copy
l
Go to page 128 for essential background information on the topic and
useful web links
Don’t forget to use the Additional activity worksheet at the end of this unit;
notes and answers on page 126
Marketing terms can be found in the Glossary on Student’s Book pages
114–119
Refers to the Audioscript at the back of the Student’s Book
The tender process
Before you begin …
Brainstorm with the class a list of marketing capabilities: things that a marketing
department or agency might do. There is a list of such capabilities in Exercise 2b
on Student’s Book page 72, but you do not need to elicit the whole list.
When you have finished, students work in small groups to decide whether these
activities are best done in-house (by a marketing department) or outsourced to
an agency. If the answer is ‘it depends’, students should discuss what it depends
on.
1 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
1 Because the relationship with the organisation’s current agency has broken
down.
Because of a fall or ‘plateau’ in sales. If sales have plateaued, it means that
they are neither growing nor falling but are constant.
To act on some new market research findings, which the current agency may
not be able to do / may not have a specialisation in.
Because of the launch of a new product, service or brand.
Because of a change in personnel, either in the organisation itself or in their
current agency.
Because a new agency has had some success with a similar brand.
2 The tender process differs from company to company. Typically, an
organisation will notify potential suppliers that it requires a service and invite
suppliers to pitch for that service. This can be called a request for proposal,
request for tender or request for bid, which is sometimes (but not always)
preceded by a request for information.
Potential suppliers are often invited to pitch for the contract in person – that
is, to give a presentation explaining why they are the best supplier for the
contract. The organisation must then select the supplier that it feels will
best be able to carry out the contract. This is done by judging each supplier
against specific selection criteria.
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UNIT 9 Agencies and suppliers Teacher’s Notes
b Students read the text to answer the question.
Suggested answer
A request for information is designed to give an organisation a general idea of
what a potential supplier can do. It is intended to help the organisation narrow
down (reduce) the number of potential suppliers for a contract.
c
Students work in pairs to choose the correct answers.
Answers
1 a 2 a 3 b 4 a 5 a 6 b 7 a 8 b
Extension activity: vocabulary
Students test each other in pairs by reading the beginning of one of the
definitions to elicit the correct ending.
2 a
Students read the overview on the following page to find out whether the
Brownswood Group would be suitable as a partner for Alchemy Fireworks. They
then answer the questions with a partner without looking at the text again.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
full-service
Provide; services
tailored; meet; needs
manage; accounts
closely; with
determine; grow
b Students complete the list of capabilities in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
Marketing – Market Research; Strategic Planning
Public Relations – Media Training; Crisis Communications
Advertising – Media Planning and Buying: local, regional and national
Creative – print, web and broadcast: Radio/TV Commercial Production;
Copywriting; Layout and Design
Extension activity: capabilities
This would be a good opportunity to compare the list with the ideas
generated in the Before you begin … exercise above. You could also get
students to test each other by covering the list of capabilities and taking
turns to name a capability from one of the headings.
c
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Students work in small groups to plan and write their responses. The third part
of the response, a detailed example, could be done as homework.
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UNIT 9 Agencies and suppliers Teacher’s Notes
Extension activity: analysing case studies
You could show some authentic examples of branding case studies
(see for example:
http://www.interbrand.com/client_list.aspx?serviceid=1001&langid=1000
for some very well-written case studies), and tell students to identify which of
the five questions from the RFI in Exercise 1b are answered in each case study.
Answers
Mostly past simple, plus some other narrative tenses for background information
(e.g. past perfect, past continuous) and past expectations (e.g. would, was going
to).
An informal pitch
Before you begin ...
Discuss these questions with the class.
1
2
3
4
5
What is a pitch?
Who might marketing professionals have to pitch to?
What is the difference between a formal and an informal pitch?
Do you know any techniques for successful pitching?
Have you ever had to make a pitch? What happened?
Suggested answers
1 A sales speech, typically well-rehearsed. The aim is usually to sell something
to the listener.
2 Internal customers (e.g. to persuade a finance manager to approve a budget)
and external customers (e.g. a marketing agency selling to a client).
3 Formal pitches are planned in advance and the listener is expecting to hear it.
Informal pitches are more spontaneous and take place when an opportunity
arises.
4 Make a good first impression; have a hook (i.e. something memorable); be
confident and positive; focus on the listener’s needs; personalise the pitch to
the listener; use short words and simple sentences; pause for dramatic effect;
remember the importance of body language; personalise it (using we, you,
etc.).
You could also use this article to generate some discussion: 7 Ways to Stop
“Selling” and Start Building Relationships (http://marketing.about.com/od/
salestraining/a/stopselling.htm). Write on the board traditional sales mindset
and new sales mindset and elicit some differences. Then read aloud some of the
examples from the text to elicit whether they are traditional or new. Afterwards
discuss how useful the advice in the article is.
3 a
Students listen to decide if the statements are true or false.
9.1 page 96
Answers
1 T
2 F – He is going to send a full request for proposal soon. They’ll get a full brief
if they win the tender.
3 F – He seems happy to answer her questions.
4 F – She says, ‘I’m sure we’ll be able to put together a strategy that gives you
the best value for your budget.’
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UNIT 9 Agencies and suppliers Teacher’s Notes
b Students work in pairs to discuss what they remember about each of the
headings and then listen again to complete their notes. When they have checked
again with a partner, go through the answers with the class.
9.1 page 96
Answers
1
2
3
4
They can offer more or less anything the client wants.
They are highly experienced.
They are extremely proud of it.
They are some of the best in the business; she is sure they will come up with
some great concepts.
5 They’ve been very well received; the response has been great.
6 She’s sure it will give them the best value for their budget.
7 She’s got some great rates secured with national, regional and local press.
c
Students listen again to complete the sentences.
9.1 page 96
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
As you know; full-service
highly-experienced; as you know
extremely; very
You know; some of the best; in the business
I’m sure; great
I’m sure; gives you the best value
d Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
They are all used to modify a noun or adjective in a positive way.
e Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
In the business emphasises that her designers are the best of all other agencies;
gives you the best value for your budget describes the strategy in a positive way;
As you know, you know, I’m sure make her sound more confident.
f
Students role play the conversation in pairs, using the persuasive language
from this section. They then swap roles so that both students have a chance to
practise being persuasive.
Selection criteria
Before you begin ...
If you have Internet access in the classroom, play a clip from The Gruen Transfer,
an Australian TV programme about pitching. In the programme, two marketing
agencies are challenged to create a pitch to sell the unsellable. There are
many funny and clever clips available on YouTube, but because the topics are
‘unsellable’, some may be unsuitable for your students, so you should choose an
episode carefully. One of the safest is The Pitch, GFC CEOs S2 Ep 5 (http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=J6Rh96rjrug). Students watch the clip to decide which pitch
they prefer. These clips could then be used to illustrate the language points from
this section and provide a context for the role play.
4 a
Students close their books to discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back
to the class. Elicit the best ideas onto the board.
b Discuss differences with the whole class.
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UNIT 9 Agencies and suppliers Teacher’s Notes
c
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
5 a
Industry-specific understanding and experience
Size
Capabilities
Reputation and track record
Remuneration
Geographical location
Quality of creative ideas and execution
Agency culture
Students listen to answer the question. When they check with a partner, they
could also discuss what was said about each of the criteria.
9.2 page 96
Answers
Remuneration
b Students listen again to complete the table.
9.2 page 96
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
c
BG
PPA
4
7
4
4
4
DNA
7
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
7
4
4 (Glen) 7
7 (Rob)
Students discuss the extracts in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 P 2 P 3 P 4 P 5 P 6 N 7 N 8 N 9 P 10 P
d Students work in pairs to change the comments and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 I didn’t think The Brownswood Group were very strong overall.
2 They’ve got some weak/poor ideas and they don’t seem to execute them
very well.
3 They’re not based nearby, either, which is a disadvantage.
4 I got the worst feeling from Plastic People.
5 I didn’t have a good feeling about Brownswood.
6 To be honest, I was most impressed with them overall.
7 I got the impression that they (really) understood our industry.
8 If I’m honest, I think they’re as strong as
Brownswood. 9 But I don’t feel that they understand our business very well.
10 And Brownswood don’t have a very good track record. Their work on that
Union Direct campaign wasn’t great.
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UNIT 9 Agencies and suppliers Teacher’s Notes
e Divide the class into groups of four and allocate roles. If necessary, some groups
could have five students. Note that all students will have a chance to present a
pitch, so you may suggest that all students prepare their pitches first. Suggest
that they use the selection criteria from Exercise 4b and the capabilities from
Exercise 2b to structure their pitches. Point out that the aim of this exercise is
to practise the language of judging the pitches, so students should not worry too
much about making the pitches perfect.
Note that you could also use the video clips from the Before you begin ... activity
as input for the discussion.
f
Students swap roles and repeat the activity.
Copywriting
Before you begin ...
Discuss the following questions with the class.
1 What is copy? Who is a copywriter?
2 Have you ever written copy in your language? In English?
3 What techniques do you know for writing good copy in your language or in
English?
4 Do you think non-native speakers of your language can/should write copy in your
language?
5 Do you think non-native speakers of English can/should write copy in English?
Suggested answers
1 Copy means simply written text intended for publication. It excludes graphic
features such as pictures, layout, font, etc. The term is commonly used in
journalism to refer to news stories, etc., and in marketing to refer to the
language of adverts, brochures, websites, etc. A copywriter is a person who
writes marketing copy.
3 Use emotive language. Remember the audience. Use simple structures. Use
language techniques such as alliteration, rhyme, repetition of key words or
sounds, etc.
4/5 This is a very complex issue. On the one hand, English has become a lingua
franca of business, so it no longer ‘belongs’ to its native speakers. With so
much international communication in English between non-natives, it is often
neither possible nor necessary to check everything with a native speaker. As
a result, non-native speakers of English very often do write copy in English.
On the other hand, question 4 is intended to raise awareness of the challenge
of writing copy in another language. If students would question a non-native
speaker’s ability to write good copy in their own language, perhaps nonnatives should be more careful about writing copy in English.
6 a
Students read the draft to answer the questions. When students have discussed
with a partner, check with the class.
Suggested answers
1 On marketing collateral (for example, in a brochure or catalogue); in a direct
mail piece; on the company’s website; in an email to potential clients
2 As the copy introduces the reader to Alchemy Fireworks, it is probably aimed
at new or potential customers rather than existing customers.
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UNIT 9 Agencies and suppliers Teacher’s Notes
b Students work in pairs to match the paragraphs to the descriptions.
Answers
1 D 2 B 3 A 4 C
Note
The four-paragraph structure here closely mirrors a common sales technique called
AIDA. With this technique, a seller first grabs the reader’s/listener’s Attention,
then creates Interest in the product or service, then builds a Desire in the reader/
listener to have the product/service, and finally instructs the reader/listener what
Action to take, such as visiting a website or making a phone call to order the
goods.
c
Students discuss the question in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
In Draft 2, the paragraphs follow a more logical order:
A an attention-grabbing paragraph explaining who the company is
B a short description of what the company does, designed to create interest and
make the audience want to continue reading
C a description of how the company’s service (or product) satisfies their
customers’ needs; this is intended to make the reader want to use the
company’s services (or product)
D a call to action
d Students discuss the question in pairs and then feed back to the class. You could
elicit some examples of emotive language (see Additional activity / Worksheet 9
below for some examples).
Suggested answer
Emotive language is language that creates strong feelings in the reader by
appealing to his/her emotions and/or senses. For example, if a building is
described as very tall, we have an image in our head of the size of the building.
However, if the same building is described as towering, then not only do we know
that the building is very tall, but also how the person describing it feels. In this
case, towering has a sense of being both tall and impressive; it is a more vivid, or
powerful, description.
Emotive language is often used when we’re trying to convince people of
something; for that reason, it can be very useful for copywriters.
e Students work in pairs to find examples of emotive language, and then feed back
to the class.
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UNIT 9 Agencies and suppliers Teacher’s Notes
Answers
More emotive words are shown in bold; less emotive words are underlined.
1 A
Draft 2: Alchemy Fireworks draws on a passion for life, for excitement, for
noise, for celebration – a passion for fireworks.
B
Draft 1: Alchemy Fireworks draws on a love of life, of excitement, of noise, of
celebration – a love of fireworks.
C
Draft 2: ... to help create their vision.
Draft 1: ... to help create what they want.
2 B
Draft 2: ... we have designed and delivered stylish and spectacular
professional firework displays for a wide range of events, from major
international public celebrations …
D
Draft 1: ... we have designed and delivered great professional firework
displays for a wide range of events, from big international public celebrations
…
3 C
Draft 2: ... to exceed the expectations of our clients … to inspire their
audience … display transforms a great event … of those who experience it.
Our clients … trust our expertise and depend on our professional service …
every show we create is our most important.
Draft 1: ... to meet the expectations of our clients … to make their audience
happy … display changes a great event … of those who see it.
Our clients … know about our expertise and like our professional service …
every show we do is our most important.
D
Draft 2: Contact us now to discuss how we can inspire the audience at your
next event.
A
Draft 1: Contact us now to discuss how we can make the audience happy at
your next event.
Additional activity
Worksheet 9 at the end of this unit contains many examples of emotive
language. Cut up the worksheet into slips of paper and give a set to each
team of three or four students. Students match the simple words and
phrases (1–21) to the emotive alternatives (a–u). The first team to finish
is the winner. When students have finished, give each student a copy of
the complete worksheet for their reference. They can then test each other
in pairs by reading one of the simple words to elicit from their partner the
emotive equivalent.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
126
d
c
a
b
j
n
o
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
h
e
l
i
f
g
k
15 p
16 s
17 r
18 q
19 m
20 t
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UNIT 9 Agencies and suppliers Teacher’s Notes
f
Students write their brochure extracts alone as homework or in class in pairs. It
is a good idea if different groups write different sections of the brochure (e.g. our
products, our expertise, our people, our promise).
g Students discuss improvements to their writing with a partner.
Extension activity: tips for writing copy
Print a set of tips for writing copy (e.g. A 10-Step Copywriting Tutorial, http://
www.copyblogger.com/copywriting-101/) and distribute the tips so that each
student has one or two tips to read. They then work in groups to share the
tips they have read about with other students.
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UNIT 9 Agencies and suppliers Teacher’s Notes
Background information and useful web links
Tendering
A tender is a formal offer to supply something for a given price. It is common for
some companies and especially public sector agencies to put out a call for tender for
large contracts. The whole process of requesting and providing bids may be called
tendering.
Useful web links
Tender for a contract
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1073900012
Request for information (RFI)
This is a standard tool used in business to gather written information from a range of
suppliers. It is often used in conjunction with a Request for tender (RFT), Request for
proposal (RFP) or Request for quotation (RFQ).
Useful web links
Request for information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Request_for_information
Request for ... procurement processes (RFT, RFQ, RFP, RFI)
http://www.negotiations.com/articles/procurement-terms/
Pitching
This is more of a sales technique than a marketing technique, although of course
marketers need to be well aware of the skills and tricks involved, not least because
they may have to sell their services to external and internal customers.
In many cases, pitches are carefully rehearsed and tested for maximum impact, but
sales people and marketers also need to be ready to give an informal sales pitch when
an opportunity presents itself.
Useful web links
Delivering an effective sales pitch
http://www.effectivemeetings.com/presenting/delivery/sales.asp
How effective is your sales pitch or elevator speech?
http://salesmarks.com/archives/effective-elevator-speech-sales-pitch/
Seven ways to stop ‘selling’ and start building relationships
http://marketing.about.com/od/salestraining/a/stopselling.htm
Copywriting
This involves writing marketing material designed to persuade potential customers
to take a particular action, such as buy a product. It should not be confused with
copyrighting, which involves protecting intellectual property.
There is no end of useful advice on the Internet for copywriters. One of the most
important concepts in copywriting is AIDA, which summarises the four purposes of
copywriting and selling more generally (in the most natural order that they should
appear):
128
●●
A – Attention (Awareness): attract the attention of the customer
●●
I – Interest: raise customer interest by focusing on and demonstrating advantages
and benefits (instead of focusing on features, as in traditional advertising)
●●
D – Desire: convince customers that they want and desire the product or service
and that it will satisfy their needs.
●●
A – Action: lead customers towards taking action and/or purchasing.
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UNIT 9 Agencies and suppliers Teacher’s Notes
Useful web links
Do you write content or copy? Part 1
http://www.excessvoice.com/web-copywriting-tip8.htm
AIDA (marketing)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDA_(marketing)
A ten-step copywriting tutorial
http://www.copyblogger.com/copywriting-101/
Emotive language
This is used not just in marketing but also in journalism, especially for headlines, to
grab attention. In journalism, emotive language is often negative (so, for example,
teenagers may be referred to as youths or hooligans in one article and children or
youngsters in another). In marketing, emotive language tends to be positive (e.g.
when describing the product or service being marketed), but may also be negative
(e.g. to highlight the problem that the product solves).
Useful web links
Power words for emotional selling
http://www.freereport.net
Website marketing – Do you use these ten emotive words on your website?
http://ezinearticles.com/?Website-Marketing--Do-You-Use-These-10-Emotive-Words-OnYour-Website&id=581501
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UNIT 9 Agencies and suppliers Teacher’s Notes
Worksheet 9
130
a good show
1
a
a breakthrough
a love of sth
2
b
a challenge
a new development
3
c
a passion for sth
a problem
4
d
a spectacular display
as soon as possible
5
e
affordable
basic
6
f
delighted
better
7
g
enhanced
big
8
h
enormous
cheap
9
i
expertise
creative
10
j
immediately
experience
11
k
incredible
happy
12
l
innovative
improved
13
m
powerful
interesting
14
n
simple
to do sth
15
o
superior
to find out what you can do
16
p
to achieve sth
to give you ideas
17
q
to exceed your expectations
to meet your expectations
18
r
to inspire you
strong
19
s
to unlock your potential
unusual
20
t
unique
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Professional English
Cambridge English for
Marketing
UNIT 10
TEACHER’S NOTES
Exhibitions and events
l
Booking a stand at an event
Dealing with a visitor to the stand
l Networking at a social event
l Writing a follow-up email
l
Go to page 141 for essential background information on the topic and
useful web links
Don’t forget to use the Additional activity worksheet at the end of this unit;
notes and answers on page 133
Marketing terms can be found in the Glossary on Student’s Book pages
114–119
Refers to the Audioscript at the back of the Student’s Book
An international exhibition
Before you begin …
Print some information about current trade shows/fairs, exhibitions and events
(for example, by following links from http://www.exhibitions.co.uk/) and distribute
information about one event to each group. The groups should read the
information to find the answers to these questions.
1
2
3
4
5
6
1 a
Where and when is the event taking place?
Who will be exhibiting there?
What will they be trying to promote or sell?
Who will they be trying to sell to?
Why would this event be attractive to exhibitors?
Why might it be attractive to non-exhibitors (e.g. members of the public)?
Do this as a class activity. All the things are in the picture.
Answers
In the main picture the company with an orange stand is an exhibitor. There are
several visitors to the stand – for example, the man in the grey suit holding a
coat on the right of the picture. He’s talking to a stand staffer, the woman in the
grey suit. They’re standing next to a display/brochure stand.
Extension activity: trade fair vocabulary
Students test each other in pairs by pointing to one of the things in the
picture to elicit the correct word. They could also find more examples in the
pictures you printed for the Before you begin … activity.
b Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
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UNIT 10 Exhibitions and events Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
2 To generate sales leads; to build relationships with existing customers; to
carry out competitor analysis; to conduct research; to launch new products or
services; to sell products or services; to recruit staff; to find new suppliers.
c
Students read the information to answer the questions. Discuss the answers with
the class.
Answers
1 Yes. (This company is an example of an agent – someone who sells one
person’s property to another person.)
2 Yes. (This company is an example of a developer – a company that builds
properties and then usually sells them through an agent.)
3 Yes. (The exhibition is for people interested in buying property abroad.)
4 No. (The exhibition is for people interested in buying property abroad; in this
case, that means not in Russia.)
5 No. (According to the information, properties in the USA are not going to be
part of the exhibition.)
Extension activity: powerful adjectives
Students find examples of adjectives used in the text to make the exhibition
sound more attractive.
Answers
world-class; perfect (x2); top; relaxed; premier
2 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
To generate sales leads; to carry out competitor analysis; to find new suppliers
(for example, new developers); to conduct research
b Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 No. Exhibitors can buy a shell or space only (that is, empty exhibition space).
2 Yes. There is a space on the form for Preferred position.
3 Plasma screen TV, storage room, internet access. (A brochure stand is only
considered to be furniture if it is a large bookcase to display brochures.)
4 Shell B is more expensive than Shell A. It is also larger (12 m2 compared
to 9 m2) and comes with a rotating lightbox cube with logo and front glass
panel(s).
You could ask the following question.
Do you think the prices look reasonable?
c
Students listen and then discuss the question with a partner. Then discuss the
question with the class.
10.1 pages 96–97
Suggested answer
Both negotiators are effective, and they both get what they want, which suggests
they are good negotiators. Maria pretends not to be very interested in the
beginning, and as a result manages to get a good deal. However, Oleg is still
quite firm – he doesn’t allow the price to go do
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UNIT 10 Exhibitions and events Teacher’s Notes
Note
It is normal at trade fairs that the official price for stands can be negotiated down,
especially with regular exhibitors. In this conversation, Maria knows she can get a
better price and that Oleg will compromise. The only issue is how close the final
price will be to the official price.
d Students listen to make the necessary changes and then check with a partner.
10.1 pages 96–97
Answers
■
4 Shell scheme; ■
4 Shell B (will cost €475 per m2); Space required: 12m2;
Preferred position: next to the entrance; 2 brochure stands are now free;
cupboard is free; internet access is free; Total cost: €5,700
e Students work in pairs to put the words into the right order and then listen again
to check.
10.1 pages 96–97
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
f
Is there anything you can do on the price
If you take; I can offer it to you for
it’s still more than we want to spend
What if we
I’m sorry, I can’t do it
If you only want; you’ll have to pay
What if I offered you
Could you include
If you can promise us; then it’s a deal
That’s the best I can offer
Students complete the exercise in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 c 2 a 3 b
Additional activity
Students work in pairs to complete Worksheet 10 at the end of this unit with
the best options. Point out that all the options are grammatically correct, but
they may have a different effect in a negotiation. Students listen to Audio
10.1 again to compare it with their answers. Afterwards elicit any differences
between students’ answers and those from the recordings, and discuss what
effect students’ answers might have on the negotiation.
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UNIT 10 Exhibitions and events Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
will depend do We’d we you can you can It means can
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
is Shell B
It’s
Is there
take
can
would be
take
can’t
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
want
you’ll
offered
can
That saves
Could
can’t
I’ll
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
would normally cost
can
it’s
I’ll
can’t
can
Can
I’ll
The negotiators used will, can and present simple to state facts and to indicate
that their offer is solid and ‘on the table’. They used conditional structures (would,
could, if + past) to indicate that they were exploring options without actually
putting anything ‘on the table’. They used conditional structures in the first part
of the negotiation and will, can and present simple at the end to indicate that
they were happy with the deal.
3 a
Students work alone to plan their objectives. Encourage them to aim high –
they may be able to negotiate an outcome worth much more than their €6,000
budget.
b Students use the expressions and techniques from this section to role play the
negotiation. Afterwards they swap roles and repeat the exercise. Point out that
the aim for both parties is to reach agreement – the exhibitor is very keen to
exhibit at the conference and the organiser is very keen for the exhibitor to take
part.
On the stand
Before you begin …
If you have internet access in the classroom, play one or both of these clips. If
you don’t have internet access, students may watch the clips as homework.
Clip 1: Marketing & Advertising: How to Make a Trade Show Successful (http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=Arh2TKRi_mg)
Clip 2: Five Surprising Errors That Kill Trade Show Sales http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=UY3BLAXHNYg
For the first clip, students have to identify the four rules of successful trade shows.
Note that the clip begins with a very short advert, and the speaker also provides
many other important tips in addition to her four rules. For the second clip, students
identify the five biggest errors that companies make when they go to trade shows.
Note that the clip ends with an advert, so you may want to stop it after the five errors.
After watching, students discuss the tips and errors with a partner, including any more
useful advice they remember from the videos.
Answers
Clip 1
Rule 1: Invest in your presentation.
Rule 2: Do not rely on your presentation alone to make the pitch.
Rule 3: Follow up leads.
Rule 4: Don’t try it with a bad product or service.
Clip 2
Error 1: Using non-sales staff.
Error 2: Not having specific goals.
Error 3: No activity quotas.
Error 4: No show training.
Error 5: No management supervision.
4 a
134
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
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UNIT 10 Exhibitions and events Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answers
1 The people who work on the stand at a trade fair/show will depend on the
organisation, their objectives and their resourcing. For example, it is not
uncommon for administrative staff to have a customer-facing role at a trade
show because there are not enough sales or marketing staff to cover the
stand.
2 Tiredness (for example, many booth staffers have to work long hours; people
attending the event may have travelled from overseas and could be suffering
from jet-lag); time pressures, for example not having enough time to deal with
each visitor to the stand properly; time-wasters; non-sales staff having to deal
with customers.
b Students read the advice and then match the collocations to the definitions.
Answers
1 f 2 g 3 b 4 e 5 c 6 d 7 a
c
Students discuss the question in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Extension activity: language and tips for stand staffers
Elicit from the class some phrases and tips for each of the techniques. See
Exercise 4f for some answers.
d Students listen to identify the techniques that Maria uses.
10.2 page 97
Answers
All ticks.
e Students discuss the question in pairs and then listen again to check their
answers.
10.2 page 97
Answers
1 The event itself (she asks if Nikolai has been to the event before and if he is
enjoying it) and family (she asks about Nikolai’s children).
2 What region he is interested in (Is that a region you’re particularly interested
in?) and the type of property he is interested in (Are you interested in a
particular type of property?)
3 She lets Nikolai look at the sales literature on the stand; she talks about how
popular the development is and how it is going to sell quickly; she describes
some of the features of the development that she thinks will appeal to Nikolai.
4 Yes. Nikolai says that the development is too expensive for him. Maria
overcomes the objection by explaining that they may be able to negotiate on
the price, if Nikolai is able to make a firm commitment to buy.
5 She asks him to fill out a form.
f
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Students work in pairs to complete the table.
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UNIT 10 Exhibitions and events Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1 Can I help you with anything?
2 It’s a great event, isn’t it? Have you been to this event before?
3 Is that a region [product/service, etc.] you’re particularly interested in? Are you interested in a particular type of property [product/service, etc.]?
4 If you have any questions, please just ask.
5 Well, not necessarily. In fact, ...
6 We might be able to offer some very attractive prices for people who are
willing to buy ...
7 If you can just fill in this form for me with a few details, ...
8 There has been a lot of interest in this development today. I think it’s going
to sell very quickly, so ... Would you like to take some information about the
development with you?
Extension activity: techniques and phrases
Students test each other in pairs by naming one of the techniques to elicit
some of the useful phrases for that technique.
5 a
If students need inspiration for a product or service, they could use one of the
trade fairs from the Before you begin … activity before Exercise 1a to generate
ideas. Make sure they know to use the techniques and phrases from Exercise 4f
in their role plays.
b Students work alone to make notes. Afterwards collect feedback on how effective
the staffer was at not just providing information but also collecting it.
An evening event
Before you begin …
Discuss the following questions with the class.
1 Have you ever been to a formal evening event, as part of a conference, exhibition
or trade fair?
2 What is the purpose of events like these for (a) the organisers and (b) attendees?
3 What is the danger of events like these from a business point of view?
Suggested answers
2 For the organisers, the event is a chance to have a ‘captive audience’ who will
listen to presentations, provide personal information (such as business cards)
and who will get a positive impression of the company that has organised the
event. An important principle in sales is reciprocity: if you receive something
from somebody (such as a nice meal), you are likely to feel obliged to give
something back (such as a business deal). For attendees, the incentive may be
simple (a free meal, a pleasant evening’s entertainment) or more calculated (a
chance to do business and make contacts).
3 Events like this are very expensive to organise, and may not be successful in
generating enough new business to cover their cost.
6 a
Students read the invitation to answer the questions.
Answers
1 Bulgarian Homes and the White Sands Development Corporation
2 Anyone who has an invitation.
3 Yes, it says refreshments will be provided.
b Students work in pairs to find the words and expressions.
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UNIT 10 Exhibitions and events Teacher’s Notes
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 a
in conjunction
delighted
VIP-only
enchanting
luxurious
entertainment
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
1 Networking is meeting people who might be useful to you professionally. A lot
of networking happens at social events as opposed to at meetings.
3 To raise your profile with stakeholders; to identify potential customers,
suppliers, partners, etc.; to build or improve relationships with stakeholders.
b Students discuss the advice in pairs and then feed back to the class. Don’t go
through answers at this point as answers are given in Exercise 7d.
c
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class. Don’t go
through answers at this point as answers are given in Exercise 7d.
d Students listen to answer the questions.
10.3 page 97
Answers
She speaks to two people: Yulia Kovarskaia works for the event organisers,
TFH; Josep Mas is the owner of Spanish Quality Estates, agents for property
developers.
e Students listen again to answer the questions. Afterwards they discuss their
answers in pairs and feed back to the class.
10.3 page 97
Answers
1 They both know Oleg. Yulia works with him and Maria spoke to him about
buying space at the exhibition (see Exercise 2).
2 Suggested answer: From a networking point of view, there may be other
people at the event who are more useful. For example, Josep is not a
potential customer and works in a very different market so is probably not a
very useful contact.
f
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Students work in pairs to identify examples of the techniques.
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UNIT 10 Exhibitions and events Teacher’s Notes
Suggested answer
Maria seems to be quite an effective networker:
She makes a good first impression by being confident and polite (Do you mind if
I join you?).
She introduces herself quickly and clearly (Maria Zlateva, Bulgarian Homes.).
However, she doesn’t give her job title, which might have been a good idea.
She asks lots of questions (What do you do for Spanish Quality Estates? Have
you ever been to Bulgaria?).
She pays attention and shows interest, for example by using active listening
strategies (Wow, OK I see).
She pays a little too much attention to Josep. She could have tried to involve
Yulia in the conversation more, as she is potentially a more useful contact.
She was able to turn the topic of the conversation from small talk to business
quite easily (We thought it would be nice to do a special launch event, you know.
White Sands is one of our most important developments at the moment so we
wanted to go all out.).
She didn’t let the conversation continue too long and she knew a way of politely
ending the conversation (OK, well it was good to meet you both. If you’ll excuse
me, I have to just ... I’m sorry we didn’t have the chance to talk more, Yulia.
Perhaps some other time during the conference?).
Note
Maria may appear rather cynical when she decides that Josep is not a useful
contact. It could be argued that all contacts are potentially useful, because they
may lead to more contacts. However, Maria has to prioritise and seek the contacts
that will generate good business immediately. She makes sure Josep has her
business card and she keeps the conversation friendly and positive.
Extension activity: collocations and phrases
Read the following phrases up to the point marked // to elicit from the class
how they continue. It is not necessary to remember the exact words, just the
general idea and the collocation. Students may also test each other using
Audioscript 10.3 on page 97.
Do you mind if I // join you?
I’ve been dealing // with your colleague Oleg.
Oleg is responsible // for selling stand space at the exhibition.
So we have you to thank // for this evening’s event.
I can’t take all // the credit.
… we wanted to go all // out.
We’re agents // for some of the biggest property developers in Spain.
Here, take // my card.
I have to just check // on a few things with one of my colleagues.
OK, well, I hope you both enjoy // the rest of the evening.
g Discuss this with the whole class, and elicit more good examples from the class
onto the board.
Extension activity: phrases and techniques
Students test each other by reading one of the techniques to elicit the phrase
Maria used for that technique.
h Students work in pairs or groups of three to practise networking, using the
language and techniques from this section. It is important that they are clear
about their objectives before they begin.
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UNIT 10 Exhibitions and events Teacher’s Notes
Extension activity: networking practice
You could arrange the networking practice as a whole-group activity. Before
the event, give each student a card with very simple instructions such as:
‘You are very keen to talk to [student’s name] and [student’s name] because
you believe they are very good leads.’ Make sure each student is looking for
different people than are looking for him/her (so, for example, Student A
wants to talk to Student B, but Student B wants to talk to Student C). This
will ensure that students practise the language of ending a conversation
politely.
The follow-up
Before you begin …
Write the following question words in a circle on the board (who, to whom, why,
when, how many, how, how often), with the word Follow-up in the centre of the
circle. Students work in pairs to discuss what the different question words refer
to or what the answers to them are, and then feed back to the class. You should
do the first question with the class as an example so they know what to discuss.
Suggested answers
Who: The person who made the initial contact.
To whom: To all leads with a reasonable chance of becoming customers.
Why: Without follow-up, chances of success are much lower.
When: Immediately after first contact.
How many: Not too many – quality may be more important than quantity.
How: By phone, email, letter or face-to-face. Could be personalised or standard.
How often: Depends on the type of product/lead, but once is not enough.
8 a
Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Suggested answers
1 It allows an organisation to try and convert potential sales leads into actual
sales.
2 This will depend on the organisation, but it will usually be a member of the
sales team. This is especially important if there were non-sales staff working
on the stand at the event.
3 An example follow-up email is shown in Exercise 8b.
b Students read the email to answer the question. They discuss their answers with
a partner before feeding back to the class.
Answers
This looks like a general follow-up email, not a personalised one. It is from
Bulgarian Homes and makes no reference to the conversation that Maria and
Nikolai had on the stand. This kind of general follow-up email is common when an
organisation needs to follow up a large number of sales leads.
c
Students work alone to match the paragraphs to the functions. They justify their
answers by giving examples from the paragraphs.
Answers
1 B 2 D 3 C 4 A
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UNIT 10 Exhibitions and events Teacher’s Notes
d Students discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the class.
Answers
1 I am writing to let you know that ...
2 highly advantageous. Highly is an adverb and advantageous is an adjective.
Combining adverbs and adjectives in this way can create more impact.
3 By using the superlative form (newest, most desirable, etc.).
4 Leisure facilities: you can stay fit and healthy while you relax
Security: you never have to worry about your property, even when you’re not
there
The verb mean links the features and the benefits: leisure facilities such as
gyms and swimming pools, meaning you can stay fit and healthy while you
relax. And 24-hour, 365-day-a-year security means you never have to worry
about your property.
5 By using a hypothetical construction: Just imagine. A sense of urgency is
created with the phrase: And if you act now, you can save!
6 The writer asks the reader a simple question: So why not find out more about
the White Sands Resort? and also uses the imperative form of the verb: Call
to book your trip today
The phrases no-obligation and as little as reinforce the idea of ‘why not?’.
e Students use the language and techniques from this section to write a follow-up
email.
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UNIT 10 Exhibitions and events Teacher’s Notes
Background information and useful web links
Trade fairs and exhibitions
Trade fairs are also known as trade shows, exhibitions or expos. Public trade fairs are
open to the public, while trade-only fairs are open to company representatives and
the press. An important function of trade fairs is PR: many journalists attend and
are interested in the latest developments in an industry. They are also important for
direct sales to attendees, or sales generated by word of mouth after demonstrations,
etc. They are also hugely important for networking within an industry – a chance to
observe what competitors and partners are doing.
Useful web links
Find exhibitions and trade shows fast
http://www.exhibitions.co.uk/
Trade fair
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_fairs
Negotiations
One of the golden rules of negotiating is to create win-win situations, where both sides
are better off as a result. Professional negotiators think ahead to the next negotiation,
so building relationships based on trust and respect can be more important than
squeezing the best deal out of the other side.
A second key tip is to trade concessions: never give anything for free; always get
something in return. This usually involves having a starting position which you know is
unrealistic in order to have some cheap concessions to give up during the negotiation.
A third golden rule is make sure that whatever has been agreed is confirmed and
written down before moving on to the next part of the negotiation.
Useful web links
Negotiation skills
http://www.bizhelp24.com/you-and-work/negotiation-skills.html
Win-Win negotiation
http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/NegotiationSkills.htm
On the stand
It is important that staffers on the stand are fully trained in bringing potential leads
to the stand, explaining and demonstrating the product, qualifying the lead (to
determine how likely the person is to become a customer), getting information from
the lead, dealing with objections, and closing the deal. Many companies develop
a script for staffers to use, in order that the staffers know the best thing to say in
response to comments or objections from the lead. The script is usually written and
refined over a period of months or years, based on experience of what works and
what doesn’t.
It is also important that staffers are experienced, know the product well, and are well
motivated to sell. It is vital that the company has a strategy for the event, with clear
goals for the company and for each individual member of the team.
Useful web links
Trade show booth etiquette can attract or repel attendees
http://eventplanning.about.com/od/eventplanningbasics/tp/trade_show_etiquette.htm
nine steps to making trade shows pay off
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/marketing/advertising-branding/9steps-to-making-trade-shows-pay-off.aspx#stepstomakingtradeshowspayoff
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UNIT 10 Exhibitions and events Teacher’s Notes
Networking
Face-to-face networking, also known informally as schmoozing, is all about starting
conversations with strangers, building trust and mutual liking, establishing whether
the other person is likely to be a useful contact, exchanging contact details (e.g.
business cards), and preparing to follow up potential leads (e.g. by making notes of
useful information). Many people find the idea of ‘working the room’ (systematically
and successfully talking to everybody with a focused aim) very daunting, but the skills
can be learnt through experience and good techniques (see links below).
Useful web links
Free business networking tips and ideas
http://www.kintish.co.uk/page77.html
Top networking tips
http://www.kintish.co.uk/page1017.html
Brain surgeon – That Mitchell & Webb Look, Series 3 – BBC Two
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THNPmhBl-8I&feature=player_embedded
Following up on sales leads
This is the most important aspect of trade fairs and other networking events – without
successful follow-up, the event and the contacts are wasted. The follow-up could be in
the form of a letter, email or phone call. The more personalised the better, although if
there are large numbers of leads to follow up, it may be necessary to standardise the
procedure.
It is essential that the follow-up takes the process of turning a lead into a sale forward
– it must tell the potential customer what to do next, and give some sort of incentive
for the lead to take that step. The language of the email or letter must be persuasive.
Useful web links
The critical importance of sales follow-ups
http://www.allbusiness.com/sales/selling-techniques/1975-1.html
The importance of follow-up
http://www.emailtools.co.uk/metrics/followup.htm
Five sales follow-up tips that work
http://ezinearticles.com/?5-Sales-Follow-Up-Tips-that-Work&id=173957
How to write a sales visit follow-up email
http://www.ehow.com/how_2154069_write-sales-visit-followup-email.html
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UNIT 10 Exhibitions and events Teacher’s Notes
Worksheet 10
143
Oleg:
… You should be doing more promotion, generating more business.
Maria:
Well, it (1) will depend / would depend / depends on cost.
Oleg:
OK, well, (2) will / would / do you need a shell or only space?
Maria:
(3) We’ll / We’d / We definitely need a shell.
Oleg:
OK, fine. The cheapest shell (4) we’ll / we’d / we offer is 475 euros per
square metre; that’s called Shell A. Or (5) you can / you could get a shell
which has a rotating lightbox cube on the top where (6) you can / you could
show your logo. (7) It’ll mean / It’d mean / It means that more people
(8) can / could see where your stand is. That one’s called Shell B.
Maria:
And how much (9) will Shell B be / would Shell B be / is Shell B per square
metre?
Oleg:
(10) It’ll be / It’d be / It’s 500 euros.
Maria:
Mmm. It seems really expensive, Oleg. (11) Will there be / Would there be /
Is there anything you can do on the price?
Oleg:
Hm ... Well, we have been doing business a long time. ... Let me see. Mmm,
... OK, if you (12) take / took a Shell B, which is twelve square metres, I
(13) can / could offer it to you for the same price as a Shell A.
Maria:
So that (14) will be / would be / is 5,700 euros instead of 6,000?
Oleg:
Yes, that’s right.
Maria:
To be honest, it’s still more than we want to spend. What if we (15) take / took nine square metres instead?
Oleg:
I’m sorry, I (16) can’t / couldn’t do it. The minimum size for a Shell B is
twelve square metres. If you only (17) want / wanted nine square metres,
(18) you’ll / you’d / you have to pay the full price for a Shell A.
Maria:
Mmm. OK. Well, I’m going to have to think about it.
Oleg:
What if I (19) offer / offered you a couple of extras as well? Because you’ve
exhibited with us before.
Maria:
Like what?
Oleg:
Erm, well, I (20) can / could throw in free internet access for the whole of the
conference. (21) That’ll save / That’d save / That saves you 100 euros.
Maria:
(22) Can / Could you include a plasma screen TV, too?
Oleg:
I’m sorry, but I just (23) can’t / couldn’t do that. But (24) I’ll / I’d give you
two really attractive brochure stands and a cupboard for you to keep all of
your promotional material in. That (25) will normally cost / would normally
cost / normally costs you a total of 220 euros.
Maria:
OK, Oleg. If you (26) can / could promise us a prime position, then
(27) it’ll be / it’d be / it’s a deal.
Oleg:
OK, (28) I’ll / I’d try to give you a stand next to the entrance, but I
(29) can’t / couldn’t guarantee it. That’s the best I (30) can / could offer.
Maria:
OK, that sounds good. (31) Can / Could you email me the confirmation?
(32) I’ll / I’d then sign it and fax it back to you.
Oleg:
OK, great.
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